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Copyright N° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



The 

Living Bible 

A Course of Bible -Reading, Covering 

the Entire Bible, a Chapter a Day, 

with a Personal Devotional 

Meditation on Each 

Chapter 

By AMOS R. WELLS 

Author of "A Bible Year, "■ " The Bible 
Marksman, " etc. 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston and Chicago 






Two Copies t<** 

MAY 7 1908 



Copyrighted, 1908, 

by the 

United Society of Christian Endeavor. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 



027362 




INTRODUCTION. 

While this series of devotional comments on 
the chapters of the Bible was in course of serial 
publication the author received letters from hun- 
dreds of his readers (nearly two thousand), tell- 
ing him that they were following the course of 
Bible reading and meditation. These letters 
came from every State of the United States ex- 
cept Nevada, from every Province of Canada, 
from Porto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Ha- 
waii, Chile, Australia, France, Turkey, Germany, 
Holland, England, Finland, Syria, South Africa, 
China, and Japan. Those that hereafter may 
use the book will be interested to know of the 
wide circle that made up its constituency. 

Many of these letters came from husbands and 
wives who were reading the Bible through in this 
way together. In many cases the Bible chapters, 

3 



with the comments upon them, were made the 
basis of family prayers. The series has been 
used in sick-rooms, and many shut-ins have found 
it useful. Sunday-school teachers have read it 
with their classes. Ministers have found in it 
subjects for talks and sermons. My readers have 
ranged from young children to an old lady of 
eighty-six and from missionaries to an army 
colonel. 

These comments have been translated into 
Spanish, and perhaps into other languages. The 
readers have used different languages and ver- 
sions for the sake of adding to the interest. 

Many pleasant methods of using these medita- 
tions have come to me in these letters. One 
correspondent has a separate copy of the Scrip- 
tures which he calls " The Living Bible," and into 
this he has pasted the comment for each chapter, 
clipped from the paper, placing each beside the 
chapter to which it refers, fastening the clippings 
by one edge. Another has read with pen in hand, 
underscoring the principal verses. Another has 
chosen a verse from each chapter, copying the 
verse into a blank book and writing his own com- 
ment thereon. Another has read each chapter 
first, getting his own thought upon it, and after- 
wards reading my comment. Still another has 
read my comment first, then the chapter, and 
then has set himself to recalling my comment. 
Yet another has written in his Bible, as a chap- 

4 



ter title, the heading given each comment. The 
use of these titles for recalling different chapters 
has been a valued feature with many. 

The thought of personality has proved most 
helpful to the majority of my readers— the pro- 
noun "my" used in the heading of each com- 
ment. "I make every paragraph a prayer," 
writes one friend. Thus the series of medita- 
tions has accomplished what I hoped it might 
accomplish: it has made the Scriptures "the 
Living Bible " in the experience of many readers. 

I think that perhaps the method of one of my 
correspondents will be likely to prove most help- 
ful to the users of this book. It was his habit 
tirst to read the chapter for the day, considering 
carefully as he read what was the key-note of the 
chapter, the predominant thought, the most strik- 
ing or central expression. With this in mind he 
would take up my comment and read it with care, 
noting the difference, if any, between his thought 
of the chapter and mine, and comparing the two 
where they differed. This process could hardly 
fail to fix in mind the thought of the chapter. 

The prayer element enters into most of these 
tiny meditations, and it is hoped that they will be 
read, as they certainly have been written, in the 
spirit of prayer. We are often ready enough to 
talk with God, but not often are we eager and 
patient to listen and hear what He would say to 
us. Let our communion with the Most High be 

5 



genuine communion, our talking with our Father, 
and— wonder of wonders!— His talking with us. 
It is by means of this true prayer that the Bible 
becomes a living book, and we enter into the life 
which is life indeed. Amos R. Wells. 

Tremont Temple, Boston, 



WEEK 1. 



WEEK 1 



Sunday. Bead Genesis 1. My Creator. 

It is God who made all things, and God is good. 
I need not fear anything God has made.— Christ 
was with God in the beginning, and "without 
Him was not anything made." I must read all 
the New Testament into the first chapter of Gen- 
esis.— God saw that it all was good. As I go 
forth into the beautiful world I also shall see it to 
be good, if I have God's Spirit within me, and am 
taught of Him how to see. Lord, open Thou mine 
eyes. 

Monday. Bead Genesis 2. My Edens. 

What made Eden? The presence of God. 
That presence will make my home an Eden to- 
day ; my school, my shop, my office. Lord, help 
me to bring it about.— What did God's presence 
do for Eden? It gave to mere dust the breath 
of life and the glow of intelligence. It created 
eye-pleasantness and body-food. It established 
society and love. It will do all that for my life, 
however bare and lonely it may be. 

Tuesday. Bead Genesis 3. My Sins. 

I must keep my desires in hand, for it is through 
them I shall fall, if I fall at all.— Let me watch 
my " little " temptations, and remember that the 
smallest of them may be my undoing.— If any 
Eden is shut against me, it is because of my sin, 
and it will be opened to me because of my 
Saviour. What is my besetting sin? Lord, help 
me to overcome it. 

Wednesday. Bead Genesis 4. My Brother. 

Envy and murder are twin iniquities. If there 
is a man I envy, I am in the pathway of Cain.— 
When I begin to ask, "Am I my brother's 



WEEK 1. 

keeper?" I begin to be his murderer. There is 
only one safe rule of conduct with reference to 
any man, and that is the Golden Rule. What 
brother has God sent me whom I am not " keep- 
ing " ? 

Thursday. Read Genesis 5. My Old Age. 

Am I preparing a vigorous old age for myself? 
Health is a duty, because health alone makes 
it possible to perform well my other duties.— 
Long life is a duty — as long a life as God designs 
for me. The longer I live, if I live well, the more 
valuable will I be to God's work.— Let me pre- 
pare for myself Enoch's splendid epitaph. Oh, 
may I walk with God to-day. Have I any habit 
of body or mind that will prevent it? 

Friday. Bead Genesis 6. My Separation. 
There is evil in the world around me, a terrible 
mass of evil ; but I can at least see to the purity 
of the world within me.— Death is the doom of the 
wicked.' Let me realize their fate, and shun it.— 
" I will establish my covenant with thee," says 
God to me. " Come ye out from among them, 
and be ye separate." Lord, 1 will have no more 
communion with evil! 

Saturday. Bead Genesis 7. My Ark. 
Sure as God's word is the destruction of the 
wicked; and sin is so easy! I dare not at any 
minute hold myself safe from it— If I trust in my 
own wisdom, or resolution, or holiness, they fall 
to dust, and let in the black waters upon my soul. 
—One ark I have, and one alone, sufficient and 
unfailing. It is Christ's righteousness. " He 
sent from on high, he took me, he drew me out of 
many waters." Lord, am I hid with Thee in Thy 
pavilion? 



WEEK 2. 

WEEK 2. 

Sunday. Bead Genesis 8. My Safety. 

How many times, when the floods raged around 
me, has my God lifted me safely above them! 
And not a flood but has gone down at last.— So 
many doves of hope have come to my ark, with 
the olive leaves of good cheer! I will praise the 
Lord for His protecting care.— And I will praise 
Him for the future as for the past, for the promise 
that seed time and harvest shall continue, and 
His love clothe the world with blessings. O my 
God, how endlessly good art Thou! 

Monday. Bead Genesis 9. My Covenant. 

God has made a compact with me, and I with 
God. He has given me commandments, as He 
gave them to Noah; and a bow of promise, as 
He gave it to Noah.— I will remember my cove- 
nant ; God will remember His. I will not enter 
the church without remembering it, nor kneel in 
prayer, nor open the Bible. It shall overarch 
my life with rainbow splendors.— My Father, 
help me this day to be true to Thee, as Thou 
wilt surely be true to me. 

Tuesday. Bead Genesis 10, 11. My Pride. 

Am I building a Babel tower in the face of 
heaven? Am I rearing my ambitions over against 
God's desires? Am 1 forgetting heaven in the 
allurements of earth? Do these dangers await 
me this day? Lord, overthrow my high tower of 
pride! Give me, O God, as the most blessed of 
Thy gifts, a wise and healthful humility. 

Wednesday. Bead Genesis 12. My Migration. 
I dwell in Ur of the Chaldees. Idols are all 
about me ; in my home, in my heart. I hear a 
great voice, bidding me leave familiar scenes 
of the soul, break with old habits of sin, go 

9 



WEEK 2. 

forth, over whatever deserts, to Canaan and to 
God. O Abraham, for thy courage and faith! 
Give it to me, my Father, the God of Abraham! 
And give it to me to-day. 

Thursday. Bead Genesis 13. My Choice. 

Every day I am tempted by the Plain of Jordan. 
It is rich and fair. Every day God holds up be- 
fore me the heights of Hebron. The soil is 
poorer there, the work is harder. But God is 
there, and calls me. Ah, let who will choose 
Sodom and Gomorrah! My choice, this day and 
all days,— God grant it!— shall be the hills. 

Friday. Bead Genesis 14. My Nine-tenths. 

Has Melchizedek, King of Salem, come yet to 
me? Has the priest of the Most High met me? 
Has he spread before me a table of delights? Ah, 
yes, yes! Every day is such a priest, and every 
event such a table! And what am I rendering 
unto the Lord for all these benefits? As much 
as Abraham? Surely it shall be no less. I 
would be Thy steward to-day, O my God. 

Saturday. Bead Genesis 15. My Promise. 
How full is my life of fear! And has not God 
promised to be my shield, and my exceeding 
great reward? Has he not come to me, in all 
horrors of great darkness? Has he not promised 
me all things— height, depth, things present, 
things to come? Simply and trustingly, I will 
take the great gift; and I will walk to-day in the 
joy of it. 



10 



WEEK 3. 

WEEK 3. 

Sunday. Read Genesis 16. My Protection. 

How often I am proud, as Hagar was, when 
God gives me a gift or a grace He does not give 
to others! And how often that pride drives me 
to the wilderness! But Thou dost find me there, 

God, and dost bring me back with promises of 
safety. So protect me to-day, my God ; and above 
all protect me from myself ! 

Monday. Read Genesis 17. My New Name. 

Thy covenants with me are many, my Father. 
Every morning multiplies them and every even- 
ing sees their fulfilment. Thou hast bought me 
with blessings; I am Thine, and proudly Thine! 
Change my name, in token of Thine ownership of 
me. I would be called by Thy name. And I 
would not forget, a moment of this day, whose I 
am, and whom I serve. 

Tuesday. Read Genesis 18. My Intercession. 

Souls all around me are going down into the 
pit. I see it, I note their descent, now slow, now 
rapid. What is it to me? Am I my brother's 
keeper? Oh, for Abraham's brotherhood! Oh, 
for his passion of intercession! Lord, I am 
ashamed of my prayers. Help me henceforth to 
take self out of them, and fill them with love. 

Wednesday. Read Genesis 19. My Peril. 

Am I in Lot's plight? Have I chosen the city 
of the plain, the ways of the world? Let me recog- 
nize the danger of all worldliness— a danger far 
more terrible than any volcanic outburst. God 
will send His angels, yes, this very day, to lead 
me out of Sodom, up on to high land. And may 

1 have the wisdom to follow! 

11 



WEEK 3. 

Thursday. Bead Genesis 20. My Temptation. 

I shall be tempted to-day, as Abraham was, to 
put expediency in the place of truth and right. 
Whenever I do this, I bring others into peril, but 
myself far more. Lord, there is only one safety, 
and that is the truth. Help me to be true to-day, 
outwardly and inwardly, and in all things. Amen. 

Friday. Read Genesis 21. My Wilderness. 

Not Hagar alone wanders in the wilderness of 
Beer-sheba. Many days have I spent there, and 
am likely to spend there again, because of my 
sins and the sins of others. But God has a well 
for me in that wilderness, and a voice to call me, 
and He is ready to cause the wilderness to blos- 
som as the rose. Braise the Lord, O my soul ! 

Saturday. Bead Genesis 22. My Obedience. 

Dost Thou ask my best, my dearest? Thou dost 
not ask in tyranny, but in love; not to despoil, 
but to enrich; not with the knife, but with the 
outstretched hand of blessing. Let me do God's 
will, however dark the way. Let me pursue His 
purpose, however threatening. For His will is 
life. 



12 



WEEK 4. 



WEEK 4. 



Sunday. Bead Genesis 23. My Dead. 

Ah, yes, Abraham ; I too have my Machpelah, 
and it is becoming ever more crowded, as the 
years go by, with the mortal remains of the dear 
departed. How often my thoughts turn to Mach- 
pelah, and the tears rush to my eyes! O Thou 
resurrection Lord, help me to remember that 
they are not there, in the ground, but that my 
true Machpelah is heaven. How blessedly 
crowded heaven is getting to be ! May this day's 
living draw me nearer that abode of the obedient. 

Monday. Bead Genesis 24. My Alliances. 

Such care as Abraham took that his house 
should not be allied with the Canaanites, and 
that his son should have a proper wife, — be this 
my care for my life alliances. Guide Thou my 
friendships, O God! Enter Thou all my associa- 
tions and partnerships! May I go nowhere this 
day but Thou shalt go with me, nor embark in 
any enterprise in which Thou wilt not share. 

Tuesday. Bead Genesis 25. My Birthright. 

Am I, like Esau, selling my birthright? Alas, 
yes! For my birthright is power, and I sell it by 
sloth. And joy, and I sell it by sin. And peace, 
which I sell by ambition. And love, which I sell 
by selfishness. And God, whom I sell for a beg- 
garly bit of this world. Let me hold on to my 
birthright, what remains of it; and, O God, help 
me through obedience to increase it to what it 
was! 

Wednesday. Bead Genesis 26. My Peace. 

It is so hard to turn the other cheek! So hard 
to be driven from well to well, and patiently to 

13 



WEEK 4. 

dig new ones! So hard to be reviled and an- 
swer not again! O Christ, impart to me Thy 
meekness, Thy forgiveness, Thy divine forgetful- 
ness of injury. To-day and forever let me forgive 
those that trespass against me, that Thou also 
mayest forgive my trespasses. 

Thursday. Bead Genesis 27. My Deceptions. 

How simple and clear would be my life, were I 
only content with what my God sends me and 
plans for me! Let me no longer be a Jacob, 
scheming to get more than my share, to thrust 
myself into my brother's place. Let me know 
that I can have no real blessing except in the 
place Thou hast prepared for me, O my Father! 

Friday. Read Genesis 28. My Bethels. 

Nearer, my God, to Thee! Though a cross 
raises me. Though, like the wanderer, I make a 
Bethel out of my stony griefs. Whatever draws 
me to Thee,— misfortune, failure, sickness, loss, 
ignominy, loneliness, fear,— all shall be bright 
and blessed ; they shall be angels ascending and 
descending a golden stairway. May every hour 
of this day be a Bethel, my Father, Amen. 

Saturday. Bead Gen. 29. My Postponements. 

Does the world cheat me, Laban-wise? Does 
it promise a reward and require double payment? 
Is joy deferred, and fruition? Let me be patient, 
and rather set my affection on things above. For 
God is a just master. His promise is sure. His 
reward is certain. His payment is prompt and 
generous. What matter the postponements of 
earth? I have a present God. 



14 



WEEK 5. 

WEEK 5. 

Sunday. Bead Genesis 30. My Craft. 

Jacob was shrewd, but he had no good from his 
shrewdness. He was a witty bargainer, but he 
often left God out of the compact. Let me not 
imitate him in this, nor envy wealth that is got 
without God. Let my craft be of unselfishness, 
and let me plan how others may increase. 

Monday. Bead Genesis 31. My Wrongs. 

Men wrong me sometimes, as they wronged 
Jacob. Let me choose Christ's manner of re- 
dress rather than Jacob's. Let me love my ene- 
mies, and heap coals of fire on their heads. Thy 
way is best, O Christ, though it is hardest. Thy 
way is not hardest, O Christ, because Thou dost 
walk it with me. 

Tuesday. Bead Genesis 32. My Peniels. 

Not the Angel of Jehovah wrestling with me 
can prevail against my hardness of heart, the in- 
tensity of my sinful will. Not the fierceness of 
my desire wrestling with God can prevail against 
God's inevitable laws. I will cling! Oh, I will 
cling, as Jacob clung, to the heavenly messenger. 
And I will not let him go. And he will bless me. 

Wednesday. Bead Genesis 33. My Brother. 

Why do I not fear to meet my brother men? 
Have I not wronged tl\em? In what I have 
failed to do, if not in what I have done. Let me 
not blame Jacob. Let me rather pray for a con- 
science as sensitive as his, and as righteous a 
fear of retribution ! And, O God, let me be to-day 
a true brother to men ! 

Thursday. Bead Gen. 34. My Friend's Wrong. 

I am too little troubled by the wrongs done to 
others, and too much troubled by the wrongs 

15 



WEEK 5. 

done myself.. When sorrow is brought mountain- 
high upon another, I hear it complacently ; when 
it is so much as dusted upon my head, I am fran- 
tic. Let me live more in the lives of others, for 
their defence and upbuilding. Oh, I would be 
unselfish to-day! 

Friday. Read Genesis 35. My Memorials. 
How often has God answered me in the day of 
my distress! He has been good to me, even when 
I have been most evil. Yet I do not set up memo- 
rials to His loving kindness, either outwardly or 
in my memory. I will think of Thy kindness 
more steadily, my Father; I will praise Thee 
with readier lip. And I will record Thy good- 
ness where I and all men may know it. 

Saturday. Bead Genesis 86, 37. My Envy. 
God does not love all men alike, though He 
would like to, because not all men love Him alike. 
To His Josephs He gives coats of many colors. 
Shall I repine when I see another more richly 
blessed of God? Shall I envy him and seek his 
hurt? That would be to defeat my very desire. 
For I, too, may become a Joseph. Let me only 
be what God would have me be, and I shall have 
all 1 should like to have. 



16 



WEEK 6, 



WEEK 6. 



Sunday. Bead Gen. 38, 39. My Temptations. 

How many wiles has the devil! I cannot steel 
myself against them by philosophy, or custom, 
or regard for men's opinion, or even my own self- 
respect. There is but one resource against temp- 
tation, and that is Thy presence, O Thou who 
wert tempted in all points as I am, yet without 
sin ! Oh, wilt Thou walk with me to-day ! 

Monday. Bead Genesis 40. My Insight. 

Truly Joseph was right. Not dreams and in- 
terpretations alone, but all hidden things belong 
to God. There are many dark mysteries in life , — 
mysteries of sorrow, of fate, of pain, of sin, of the 
future. I will not try to interpret them, for God 
will show them to me, all I need, as I go on. 
God will be my vision and my understanding. 

Tuesday. Bead Gen. 41- My advancement. 

I perceive that all real progress in life comes 
like Joseph's, by God's appointment. Let me 
therefore stand still and labor, and trust God for 
advancement. It is He that must bid me " Come 
up higher." Let me cease to consider where I 
am with respect to others, but only whether God 
is with me where I am. 

Wednesday. Bead Gen. 4%* My Repentance. 
God grant that I may repent early and easily, 
not needing the spurs of affliction and danger! 
God grant that I may repent at once! Why 
should I need a famine and a long journey Egypt- 
ward to remind me of the brother I have wronged, 
and convict me of my sin? Lord, that I may 
make reparation this very day! 

17 



WEEK 6. 

Thursday. Bead Gen. 43- My Magnanimity. 

In dealing with my brothers who have wronged 
me, am I, like Joseph, magnanimous, great- 
minded? When I withhold forgiveness, is it al- 
ways for their growth in grace, and never for my 
own vindictiveness? Is my chief desire not to 
humiliate them, but to better them? Am I 
paryanimous or magnanimous? 

Friday. Bead Gen. 44. My Self-Sacrifice. 

When my brother is in danger, do I play the 
part of Judah? Am I as ready to plead for him 
with my life as with my tongue? Am I eager to 
take his yoke upon me, wear his chains, enter 
his cell? This would be taking Thy nature, O 
Christ, and entering into the joy of Thy spirit. 

Saturday. Bead Gen. 45. My Reconciliation. 

When my brother sins against me, let my for- 
giveness be contemporary with his sin. For his 
good I may withhold the expression of it, but for 
my own good let me not postpone an instant the 
feeling itself. For to hate my brother is murder- 
murder not alone of him, but of myself, my joy, 
my peace, my power. 



is 



WEEK 7. 

WEEK 7. 

Sunday. Read Genesis 46. My Goshens. 
What a sad journey for Jacob, down to Egypt, 
away from the land of promise, away from the 
hopes of the future ! I have often taken just such 
journeys. But God knows best. His Goshens, 
when He sends me there, are bettter than Canaan. 
They are lands where my hopes, seemingly frus- 
trated, become a victorious multitude. I will 
trust Him wherever He leads me. 

Monday. Bead Genesis 4?- My Dignity. 
If God go with me, I shall not fear, like Jacob, 
to stand before kings. Little though I am among 
the children of men, yet both I and they are as 
dust before the Almighty. When one looks off to 
Arcturus, what matters a few inches difference in 
height on our tiny earth? So shall I walk through 
life with erect head, if my God walks with me. 

Tuesday. Read Genesis 4$- My Blessing. 

No old man has ever laid his hand upon my 
head in blessing, or given me a portion of his 
goods, or foretold my destiny. But a greater 
blessing»may be mine, an infinitely greater. Let 
me feel this day upon my head the hand of the 
Ancient of Days, and let the words of His blessing 
ring in my ears. 

Wednesday. Read Genesis 49. My Fortune. 

These fates of the sons of Jacob were not se- 
lected at random, but were built up slowly 
through the years by themselves, and only an- 
nounced by the wise patriarch. What future am 
I now constructing for myself and for posterity? 
Would I shrink from having it proclaimed? IS T ay, 
every word and deed of mine proclaims it! 

19 



WEEK 7. 

Thursday. Bead Genesis 50. My Memory. 
What a train of power, of glory, of blessings, 
Jacob left behind him! And that in spite of his 
many faults. I have faults enough,— more than 
his. What is the balance of my life? How will 
men remember me when I am gone? Oh, my 
God, help me to think of that to-day. Help me to 
live as, on my death-bed, I shall desire to have 
lived. 

Friday. Bead Exodus 1. My Tasks. 
When my tasks seem more than I can bear, I 
shall remember that after Pithom comes Elim, 
after Raamses comes Sinai! The burdens are 
sure to slip off, if they are borne with Christian 
grace. The chains are sure to fall away, if I am 
a bond-slave of Christ. God will lay upon me no 
weight too heavy for my back ; nor will He allow 
men to overburden me. 

Saturday. Bead Exodus 2. My Safety. 
Though kings plot against me, and an empire is 
in arms to my hurt, a barrier of bulrushes will be 
sufficient protection, if God is with me. He will 
fashion a fort for me out of the palaces of my 
enemies, and a guard for me out of their tallest 
soldiers. No harm can befall me, while God be- 
falls me, in this world or in any world. O my 
Father, I will trust Thee to-day and forever! 



20 



WEEK 8. 

WEEK 8. 

Sunday. Read Exodus 3. My Commission. 
No burning bush for me? Why, my God sur- 
rounds my life with burning bushes! Wherever 
I turn, they blaze up before me. Appeals, warn- 
ings, exhortations, promises, guidances, provi- 
dences, glories, rewards, powers,— the world is 
crowded with radiant beckonings to service! 
Forbid, O God, that I should pass by unheeding, 
to herd my selfish sheep! 

Monday. Bead Exodus 4- My Reluctance. 
" O Lord, send, I pray Thee, by some one else! " 
Have I ever prayed that faithless prayer? Ah, 
have I not prayed it many, many times? Let me 
rather say : " Here am I, O Lord ; send me! How- 
ever hard and perilous the task, send me! But 
let me go nowhere, though I ascend a throne, ex- 
cept where Thou dost go with me." 

Tuesday. Read Exodus 5. My Difficulties. 

"Bricks without straw!" How much of my 
life is like that! Tasks, tasks, tasks, lacking 
health, and strength, and wisdom, and courage, 
and perseverance, and grace! But it was not 
bricks without— God ; nor is it ever tasks without 
God. Let me remember that this very hour. 

Wednesday. Read Exodus 6. My Hope. 

Is not Jehovah my God as well as the God of 
Israel? Has He ever been more to any man than 
He will gladly be to me? Did He ever bring a 
soul out of his distresses and will not bring me 
out of mine? I will appropriate every promise, 
every assurance, every fulfilment, in all the his- 
tory of the world. It all belongs to me, to me! 

21 



WEEK 8. 

Thursday. Bead Exodus 7. My Authority. 

Behold, the Lord has given to me, as to Moses, 
a wonder-working rod! I hear about with me 
the symbol and assurance of God's presence and 
power. Lo, He is with me alway. Yet how 
often, alas! I use the rod as a walking-stick, and 
think no more about it! 

Friday. Bead Exodus 8. My Hard Heart. 
Pharaoh hardened his heart before God hard- 
ened it! The king repulsed the plea of pity un- 
til God could no longer pity him. God fixed him 
in evil, but only after he had proved his unalter- 
able will for evil. Oh, Almighty Judge, may no 
such fate be mine! May I fix my heart on Thee, 
that it may not be fixed in wickedness! 

Saturday. Bead Exodus 9. My Obstinacy. 

Alas for my folly, in which I join Pharaoh and 
all the long line of fools! I sin, and misfortunes 
come. I think they will pass, and continue to 
sin. They do not pass, but increase. I refuse to 
connect them with my sin. How must God grieve, 
when even His wisest and best-contrived penal- 
ties do not move His rebellious child! 



22 



WEEK 9. 

WEEK 9. 

Sunday. Read Exod. 10. My Last Chance. 
God's warnings will not continue forever. To 
me, as to Pharaoh, will come a final message. 
How do I know 7 w r hen it will come? How did 
Pharaoh know? He did not know, nor do I. He 
was gratified, like a fool, by the removal of each 
plague, and went on in his folly. Let me not 
scorn him till I am sure I am not doing the same. 

Monday. Read Exodus 11. My Death. 

I do not fear the death of the body. That, I 
know, is only an incident, a passing incident, in 
my continuing career. I look forward to it with 
equanimity. But my dread is of the death of the 
soul, a death that may come upon me at any time 
if I do not break with sin. What was the horror 
of that Egyptian midnight, what that carnival of 
woe, compared with this death of the soul? 

Tuesday. Read Exodus 12. My Passover. 

Has the death angel passed over my soul? Has 
only the dark shadow fallen upon me with its 
warning, and then hastened away? Do I stand 
again in the safe sunshine of God's love? It is 
no grace of mine, but all of Another. It is no 
merit of mine, but Another's sacrifice. Oh, end- 
less praise be to Him who has delivered me from 
this death! 

Wednesday. Read Exod. 13. My Guidance. 

Not only has the shadow passed by me, but I 
am given leadership for my safety, day and night. 
Fire and cloud— fire which I fear because of its 
power, cloud which I dread for its darkness— 
these awful omens God has transformed into the 
symbols of my salvation. By His very terrors I 
am guided, by His flaming omnipotence I am led! 

23 



WEEK 9. 

Thursday. Bead Exodus 14. My Red Sea 

Many a time it has stretched out before me, 
some sea of discouragement, difficulty, danger. 
The waves run high, the wind blows, the enemy 
press on behind; I hear their rattling chariot 
wheels, their shouts of triumph. And then the 
sea has become a cloistered pathway, and I have 
passed through untouched by a wave, while all 
my foes have been swallowed up. This has hap- 
pened, all this, yet still I fear for the future! 

Friday. Bead Exodus 15. My Marah. 

Lo, God has changed all my bitter springs to 
sweet water, and all my Marahs to Elims! There 
is no sorrow that has not issued in joy, no failure 
He has not transformed to success. That has 
been when I gave my life into His keeping, as I 
shall do to-day. 

Saturday. Bead Exodus 16. My Manna. 

Is this world a desert? I know men say it is, 
but where's the proof? I am housed beneath the 
covering of God's protection, I am abundantly 
fed with the manna of God's love, I am led by the 
pillar and cloud of God's providences. With 
shelter, food, and a highway, where is the desert? 
O my God, how endlessly good art Thou ! 



24 



WEEK 10. 

WEEK 10. 

Sunday. Bead Exodus 17. My Meribahs. 
My rebellion is often hot against God. I do not 
acknowledge it to myself , but God understands! 
He hears my complaints: " Why didst Thou bring 
me into this hard place? Wilt Thou slay me 
with thirst?" And then, perchance, my Father 
opens for me a fountain out of the very rocks that 
hem me in. He would have done it anyway ; how 
much better had He done it without my com- 
plaints! 

Monday. Bead Exodus 18. My Over-work. 
Surely I am indispensable! Surely no one 
else can do the work! Surely the Lord rests 
upon me, and His Kingdom is established on 
the rock of my faithfulness! Thus T talk with 
myself. Oh, let my better sense be the Jethro. 
Let it show me how well the world progressed 
before I was born and will progress after I die, 
and bid me toil with a less immodest frenzy. Let 
me work with others, gladly sharing with them 
the toil, the praise, and the reward. 

Tuesday. Bead Exodus 19. My Preparation. 
God does not speak to me as He spoke to Moses 
and Moses' people. With good reason, too, for I 
do not make ready to hear Him. I have not puri- 
fied my heart and life. I have not expected Him 
and been attent. Every day is a possible Sinai. 
Oh, let me go softly, waiting for the trumpet peal! 

Wednesday. Bead Exod. 20. My Decalogue. 
Part of the Commandments are easy for me; 
God forbid that my obedience there should sat- 
isfy me, as certainly it does not satisfy God. For 
part of them are terribly hard. That part is my 
Decalogue. Over that part I must pray and 
groan. There is my test, and by that obedience 
or disobedience I stand or fall. 

25 



WEEK 10. 

Thursday. Bead Exodus 21. My Slavery. 

Let me count it my pride and joy to be a bond- 
slave of the Lord! Not for six years shall my 
service be, and a glad release on the seventh; 
but gladly for all years, and release to be counted 
the most terrible of disasters. My ear to Thy 
door post, O Thou Most High! 

Friday. Bead Exod. 22. My Responsibility. 

My hands are heavy with fate. Fortunes of 
friends, of neighbors, of children, of other dear 
ones, of the community, the state, the farthest 
tribe, are in my keeping. My life is not well 
lived unless through me their lives are well lived 
or better lived. Who, without divine help, is 
equal to these things? But the help always 
comes. 

Saturday. Bead Exodus 23. My Angel. 

Surely as for His people of old, God sends His 
angel before me,— ready to punish, ready to 
praise; ready to rout my adversaries, ready to 
guide me in any gloom. Am I living my life with- 
out this supernatural aid? Then it is not my 
life, but only the pitiful shadow of the life that is 
rightfully mine! 



26 



WEEK 11. 

WEEK 11. 

Sunday. Bead Exodus 24. My Covenant. 

Not at the foot of a literal Sinai, awful with the 
presence of a visible Deity, have I made my 
covenant with the Almighty. No; hut beneath 
the sublime arch of heaven, and before the un- 
seen throne of the Infinite One! lam His. My 
life is His. I am not my own. Shall I consider 
this day as mine? Shall I be false to my solemn 
vow? And how then can I expect my God to 
bestow His covenanted blessings? 

Monday. Bead Exodus 25. My Offering. 

There are so many millions of Christians, 
wealthy, strong, zealous, and wise. They do not 
need me, or my small offering. Ah, but do I not 
need, all the more, to give it? Do I not need to 
identify myself with this great task, and the more 
because it is so great and prosperous? Yet how 
do I know they do not need me? And do I not 
know that God— even God Himself —does need 
me? 

Tuesday. Bead Exodus 26. My Tabernacle. 

What sanctuary am I fashioning for my God? 
I know the temple He desires. My body— ah, 
wonderful thought!— He has deigned to seek as 
His temple. Could higher honor come to me, 
among all earth's crowns and kingdoms? Lord, 
for purity of heart! Lord, for obedience of will! 

Wednesday. Bead Exodus 27. My Altar. 

Upon what shall I lift up my sacrifice to Thee, 
O Thou Most High? Thou dost not seek stones 
heaped up, though of beryl or chrysolite. Thou 
dost wish rather the altai\of my affections. Thou 
art best pleased with my prayers when they lie 

27 



WEEK 11. 

upon my heart and are founded upon my life. 
Such shall be my communing with Thee hence- 
forth, O my Father. 

Thursday. Read Exodus 28. My Raiment. 

Why should not I, as well as Aaron, wear upon 
my heart the names of those dear to me,— yes, of 
all those, to the ends of the earth, who are dear 
to my Lord? And why should I not wear upon 
my very forehead, "holy to the Lord"? Be my 
vesture day by day a sacred robe, however com- 
monplace to the eye of men ; and in it may I walk 
as becomes a priest of the Most High. 

Friday. Bead Exodus 29. My Consecration. 

Not Aaron, not any of his sons, was more a 
priest of God than I am. Some share have I in 
the worship of the church and my home; and I 
alone minister in that sacred temple of my heart, 
where God enters and dwells. I would live 
worthily of this exalted dignity. Shall a priest 
profane himself? 

Saturday. Read Exodus 30. My Incense. 

What incense shall I offer Thee, most glorious, 
most bountiful, most loving One? My words; 
Thou delightest even in my stammering praise. 
My life; with all its failures, it is dedicated to 
Thee. My prayers ; halting, stumbling, mistaken, 
yet they climb to Thee. My love,— ah, that is 
best of all, and includes them all, and— wonder 
of wonders!— it but reflects Thy love for me! 



28 



WEEK 12. 

WEEK 12. 

Sunday. Read Exodus 31. My Sabbaths. 

They are to be " a perpetual covenant," it seems. 
A token of my fidelity to God. A token of God's 
love for me. Days of communion, days of part- 
nership, days of friendship. If I break away 
from them, am I not breaking away from God? 
Ah, let me make my Sabbath a delight! Let me 
love its every hour, because I love its God! 

Monday. Read Exodus 32. My Golden Calf. 

Too often my ideals go. up on a mountain, and 
a cloud removes them from sight, but I stay 
down on the lower levels of life, where the base 
memories are, and the pressures of trivial needs. 
It is so easy, there, to make an idol of my folly, 
and bow down before it. Gold? Fame? Ease? 
Pleasure? Oh, my God! whatever it is, help me 
to grind it to powder! 

Tuesday. Read Exodus 33. My Vision. 

O God, show me Thyself! If I can see Thee, 
I can look all enemies in the face. If I can see 
Thee once, I will henceforth see Thee every- 
where. If I can see Thee, life will become a long, 
glad journey toward the vision of Thee forever. 
But a glimpse of Thee, even of the gesture of 
Thy hand, even of the corner of Thy robe, O my 
Father! 

Wednesday. Read Exod. 34. My Communion. 

Up in the mount with God ! Oh, may no triv- 
iality detain me, no obstacle bar me, no sin, 
basely cherished, unfit me for that high privilege. 
That my face shall shine from the glory of it I 
care not, as I shall not know, though others will 
know ; but my heart will shine, and the sun will 
dwell in all my life. Yes, " early in the morning," 
up in the mount with God! 

29 



WEEK 12. 

Thursday. Bead Exodus 35. My Offerings. 

Is my heart willing for its gifts? What I set 
apart for the Lord, of time, or money, or strength, 
do I set apart gladly, or grudgingly? Do I long 
for chances of service, or shrink from them? Is 
my heart in the work, or only my calculating 
head? Let me learn from these ancient builders 
of the tabernacle, and let to-day be a divine tem- 
ple on which I shall lavish myself lovingly for 
the Lord. 

Friday. Bead Exod. 36. My Workmanship. 

I should take more pride in my work for the 
Lord. When I speak, the words should be my 
choicest. When I plan, I should be ambitious, 
prudent, courageous. When I execute, I should 
be indefatigable. I must not allow my secular 
work to be better done than my religious work. 
Sockets and clasps and "fine twined linen"— let 
my work for God be perfect and praiseworthy! 

Saturday. Bead Exodus 37. My Ark. 
I need— oh, how I need to find God! Whether 
the blessed Presence names forth from between 
golden cherubim, or speaks invisible in the quiet 
of some morning hour, I need the mercy seat! 
The ark has perished, but the reality it em- 
bodied has not perished. The mercy seat of gold 
is gone, but mercy remains, at my very hand, 
ready to forgive me and bless me at a word. 



30 



WEEK 13. 

WEEK 13. 

Sunday. Bead Exodus 38. My Gold. 

To what uses do I put my gold? Am I most 
interested in weighing it out for the Kingdom, or 
for my own pleasures, or for hoarding it in the 
bank? Do 1 really believe that the money I use 
as God would have me use it is the only money I 
really have? And if I believe this, do I really 
act on that belief? 

Monday. Bead Exodus 39. My Breastplate. 
What do I take as the breastplate of my life, 
my defence against the darts of the evil one? Is 
it such steel and hammered brass as the world 
furnishes, masses of money, solid force, aggres- 
sive ambition? or is it such breastplate as God 
furnishes,— twelve precious stones, engraved 
with the names of His people, the tokens of His 
church? Is love for God and man the safety in 
which I confide? Ah, it will never fail me! 

Tuesday. Bead Exod. 40. My Tent of Meeting. 
As often as I go to church, do 1 meet my God? 
Do I go confidently expecting to meet that dread, 
that beloved, Presence? I know I shall see my 
friends there ; am I as sure that I shall see Him 
there? Ah, let me find myself in a true " tent of 
meeting" next Sunday! 

Wednesday. Bead Lev. 1. My Burnt Offering. 
What wilt Thou have for a burnt offering, O my 
God? Thou hast given Thyself for me as a burnt 
offering. Thou wert consumed in fiercest fires— 
and for me. Can I give Thee anything less than 
my life, myself, my ambitions, loves, longings, 
the best and strongest I am? And I cannot give 
it less than completely. It shall be laid upon the 
altar, and purified by the divine fire, till it is all 
Thine, and worthy of Thee. 

31 



WEEK 13. 

Thursday. Bead Lev. 2. My Firstfruits. 

Shall not the Lord have first place in all my en- 
terprises? And this cannot be if they are first 
for myself and only secondarily for Him. How 
shall I subordinate my interests? I cannot. I 
will identify them with His! I in Him and He in 
me,— then the firstfruits and the lastfruits shall 
be all His, and all mine. 

Friday. Bead Lev. 3. My Peace Offering. 

I would dedicate to God my hours of rejoicing. 
My recreations shall be His, my festivals. I will 
not go to Him with my griefs alone, but with my 
happiness. Why should He, who has given me 
all my pleasures, every one, be left out of them? 

Saturday. Bead Lev. 4- My Sin Offering. 
Day and night the remembrance of my sins 
weighs me down. O God, for relief from the 
burden of them! Nay, but Thou hast placed re- 
lief at hand. O Thou who wert taken without 
the camp, Thou upon whose head were laid the 
sins of the world, Thou my Sin Offering, how I 
bless Thy holy name! 



32 



WEEK 14. 

WEEK 14. 

Sunday. Read Lev. 5. My Unintended Sins. 

When I do wrong, let me not say, " I did not 
mean it," " I did not know it." What if I might 
have known it? What if I should have known 
it? O God, forgive me for my unwitting sins! 
Forgive me for the carelessness that does not 
keep close to Thee, so that I may know Thy 
will and do it in all things. 

Monday. Bead Lev. 6. My Restorations. 

If I have harmed my neighbor, my brother,— 
" as I have by many deeds or failures to do,— let 
me not rest content until I have restored all he 
has lost by me, and more. Yes, even if I stole 
only (only!) some brightness out of his sky, or 
whispered against him a half-justified reproach. 
Let me not go to sleep a single day in debt. 

Tuesday. Read Lev. 7. My Freewill Offerings. 

Shall I give Thee only what is commanded? O 
Thou that give st me so much more than I ask! 
Should I spend my day in petitions, I could not 
name over Thy benefactions of the day. Let me 
imitate Thy liberality, though it can be but 
feebly. Let the measure of my gifts overflow, 
and let my willingness still surpass my giving. 

Wednesday. Read Lev. 8. My Consecration. 
Have I felt upon my head the sacred oil? Am 
I set apart to holy use and service? If not, then 
why not? For we are all to be kings and priests 
unto God. Let me realize my consecration. Be- 
cause of that holy anointing from the hands of 
the Spirit, let me walk purely all my days. 

Thursday. Read Leviticus 9. My Obedience. 

Is my obedience such— so exact, so ready- 
that as the result of it "the glory of the Lord" 

33 



WEEK 14. 

appears to "all the people"? Is my labor 
crowned with the crown of God's manifest pres- 
ence? Ah, no. And yet it may be. And by 
God's grace it shall be. 

Friday. Bead Leviticus 10. My False Fire. 

The thing was good, in itself. I spent time 
and thought upon it, and men praised. me. Ah, 
but God did not praise me! It was not His good. 
My own will impelled me to do it, my own selfish 
ambition. False fire! false fire! and justly might 
the flame of God's anger devour me. 

Saturday. Bead Leviticus 11. My Food. 

Do I " make a difference between the unclean 
and the clean "? Do I recognize the great truth 
that my body is not my own, that it with all its 
powers and functions is the Lord's? The dish 
too much is unclean. The food or the drink that 
befogs my brain or chokes any conduit of my 
body is unclean. All gluttony, all intemperance, 
is unclean. And the desire for what is unclean 
is as unclean as the thing itself. O God, keep 
me pure! 



34 



WEEK 15. 



WEEK 15. 



Sunday. Bead Leviticus 12. My Birth. 
How wonderful that I am to live forever! How 
much more wonderful that I ever came to live at 
all! Thou who art the Life, to Thee shall the 
gates of life be consecrated. Let every thought 
that concerns the sacred entrance into existence 
be a hallowed thought; for in that Thou hast 
shared with us Thy creative powers, and deigned 
to place us nearest to Thyself. 

Monday. Read Leviticus 13. My Leprosy. 

Why do I not dread sin as the most horrible of 
diseases? It is indeed a leprosy. It makes its 
approach in secret, it advances stealthily. It 
eats, corrodes. It is foul, disgusting. It sep- 
arates from men. I will lay my hand upon my 
mouth. I will cry, " Unclean! Unclean!" 

Tuesday. Bead Leviticus 14. My Cleansing. 

Only Thou canst cleanse me, O Purity! Only 
Thou canst touch the foulness of my sin with 
healing efficacy, stay the mad riot of my blood, 
bid the hideous impulses depart, restore the torn 
and bleeding life. I fall at Thy feet. My tears 
run like rain. I can do nothing but beg for re- 
covery- And at length— with what transports of 
joy!— I hear Thy tender words: " I will; be thou 
clean." 

Wednesday. Bead Leviticus 15. My Body. 

In what a casket hast Thou placed my soul, 
my Creator! How marvellously contrived, with 
what powers, what adaptations, what beauties; 
and also with what possibilities of evil! It shall 
be Thy temple ; yea, in all its functions and acts 
it shall be held meet for Thy abode. 

35 



WEEK 15. 

Thursday. Bead Lev. 16. My Approach to God. 

What sense have I of the vastness of Deity, 
His terrible power, His awful majesty? In 
Christ I may come close to Him ; hut let me never 
he carelessly familiar. Let me never draw near 
to God hut with reverence. Let my heart he 
bowed, with my head. 

Friday. Bead Leviticus 17. My Sacrifices. 
My day is filled with a myriad tasks, my mind 
with a myriad designs. I would enter upon no 
task, adopt no plan, without Thee, O my God! 
Let me carry it before Thy altar. Let me pre- 
sent it to Thy wisdom. Let me offer to Thee the 
life-blood of it. Let me, if I receive it at all, re- 
ceive it from Thy hands. 

Saturday. Bead Leviticus 18. My Relations. 

My kindred, to whom I am bound by so many 
sacred ties,— I will cherish them, and they shall 
be as my own life! Sooner may I harm myself 
than them. More gladly may I seek their joy 
than my own. For what has God set us together 
in families, hut to love one another, and help one 
another, and lead one another nearer to our one 
Father in heaven? 



36 



WEEK 16. 

WEEK 16. 

Sunday. Read Leviticus 19. My Duties. 

How many relationships I have, and how 
many duties they all bring with them! How 
many persons there are to whom I must be kind 
and helpful, just and loving and true! Yet God 
requires of me only one duty at a time, and in 
that one duty He is present to help. Therefore 
I shall not be confused, but 1 shall go peacefully 
all my days. 

Monday. Bead Leviticus 20. My Separation. 

Of me, of me also, my God hath made " a pecu- 
liar people." Mine are not to be the laws of the 
world, the laws of greed, of a carnal desire, of 
fierceness and selfishness. And when they allure 
me with their bait, O God, give me strength to 
say, " No, no! I am not yours; I am apart from 
you, happily, and forever! " 

Tuesday. Read Leviticus 21. My Perfection. 

I must be perfect. As of old, so now, God 
would have only perfect men standing in His 
holy presence. And what a cripple I am, how 
blind, how broken, how full of blemishes! Yet, 
to my joy, a fountain of perfectness is open for 
me, the Perfect One shares with me His perfec- 
tions, and through Him I dare to enter even the 
Holy of Holies. Praise His name! 

Wednesday. Read Lev. 22. My Profanations. 

When I pass from my vireness to Thy purity, 
O Infinite Whiteness! when out of the midst of 
my sins I approach the Most Holy ; when, spotted 
and unworthy as I am, I take in my hand Thy in- 
struments and enter Thy temple,— how shall I 
not be consumed? Only as I enter with Thy Son, 
O God! Only as He invites me, only as He leads 

37 



WEEK 16. 

me, only as He wraps around me the mantle of 
His purity. With Him, I shall not be afraid, even 
before Thee. 

Thursday. Bead Leviticus 23. My Festivals. 

Have I no time from my labor to think of the 
time when that labor must cease? Am I too 
busy with the present to consider the past, to 
which the present is owed, and the future, by 
which the present is significant? This day shall 
be the Lord's! Though I may labor in it, it shall 
be a festival! I will fill it with thanksgiving. 1 
will fill it with prayer. 

Friday. Read Leviticus 24. My Lamp. 
Let the thought of my Saviour burn ever in my 
heart. Let its tender light illuminate my life 
continually. Let it plead for my darkness before 
the Mercy Seat. Let it be fed with the pure oil 
of holy thoughts. Let it be raised upon the stand- 
ard of brave deeds. Let it be a lamp that never 
goes out. 

Saturday. Bead Leviticus 25. My Jubilee. 
A fresh start! I need it sorely. Not only every 
seventh year, but every seventh day. Not only 
every fiftieth year, but all the time. I need to 
begin again. I need to forget my sinful past. I 
need a new grip on myself and my duty. I need 
a clean slate, a new sheet of paper. And I can 
get it all from Thee, O most indulgent Father! 



38 



WEEK 17. 

WEEK 17. 

Sunday. Bead Lev. 26. My Alternative. 

Blessings, or cursings! Joys, or sorrows! The 
Lord's face with me, or against me! It must be 
one or the other. Which is it? Which shall it 
he? Which am I preparing for my eternal exist- 
ence? Awe-filled alternative! God help me to 
cleave to the right! 

Monday. Bead Leviticus 27. My Oblations. 

Let me take in turn each thing that I possess, 
however valueless, however precious, and con- 
sider whether I have consecrated it to the Lord. 
If not to Him, then it is Self's and Satan's. If 
His, then it endures and is fruitful. But let me 
be honest; is it really a devoted thing? is it 
really His? 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 1. My Family. 

Suppose the people of God— the true people- 
were numbered to-day; where should I be en- 
rolled? Am I certain that I should be enrolled 
at all? Just what is my place in the church?— 
not as men see, but as God sees. For the num- 
bering is going on. Day by day the entries are 
making in the Great Book. 

Wednesday. Bead Num. 2. My Life Centre. 

How gloriously was that tent-city laid out! It 
did not centre about Moses' tent, or Aaron's or 
Joshua's. It did not centre about the commis- 
sary department or the military. Judah was not 
made the rallying point. No; its heart was the 
tent of meeting, and the heart of that tent was 
the presence of Jehovah. Thus let me order my 
life, with all its interests ; and let me permit no 
other centre. 

39 



WEEK 17. 

Thursday. Bead Num. 3. My Church "Work. 

We have no Levites, but we have Levitical 
work. Who is to do it, hut me, and my like? 
What is my task as a Levite? Have I recognized 
it? Am I about it? What particular share in 
God's house have I? what part in Christ's king- 
dom? However small, let me adopt it, and train 
for it, and do it, for Christ's dear sake. 

Friday. Bead Numbers 4. My Burden. 

Wrapped in blue or in purple, what burden has 
the Lord laid upon me or given in my charge? 
Does it seem a heavy weight, or a proud delight? 
Is it a load, or a crown? Beneath that wrapping 
is some golden vessel of the sanctuary. See! 
light and blessing radiate from it. I will walk 
happily all the day, for very joy of my burden. 

Saturday. Bead Numbers 5. My Hidden Sins. 
I need no " water of jealousy " to bring them 
out. They are bitter within, and ugly already to 
the eyes of men. My ,sins find me out. The 
world soon finds them out. Let me no longer 
hide them from myself, since they are not hidden 
from God and His creatures. Let me know my- 
self ; but first, Christ, let me know Thee! 



40 



WEEK 18. 

WEEK 18. 

Sunday. Bead Numbers 6. My Blessing. 

The benediction of Aaron upon his people is a 
benediction upon me also, for is not their God my 
God as well? And He has promised to bless me 
and keep me. His shining face is graciously 
turned upon me. In the light of His countenance 
I find my peace. Oh, let me never wander away 
from it ! 

Monday. Bead Numbers 7. My Altar. 

It has been set up by the Almighty. It is dedi- 
cated to Him. As the flame and smoke ascend 
from it, they shall be the bond between earth and 
heaven. But how are they the bond between me 
and my God? Only as I give my life for the 
altar; my life,— that is, my time and interest and 
strength, and the gold and silver that measure 
these and represent them. 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 8. My Light. 
Where is the sacred seven-branched candlela- 
brum? Has the light of the sanctuary gone out? 
Is it dark in the Holy Place? Ah, no! For we, 
even we Christians, are to shine as lights in the 
world. Oh, not to let my light go out! Oh, not 
to hide it under a bushel! Oh, to tend it daily, 
with prayer and with a song! 

Wednesday. Bead Num. 9. My Guiding Cloud. 
It is indeed a cloud, dark and ominous, and it 
has settled down upon my life, forbidding prog- 
ress. Why will the Lord hold me in this place? 
Why may I not break through, and speed on tp 
the promised land? Ah, the Lord is in the 
cloud] If I break through it and go upon my 
way, it is my way alone, and His no longer. 

41 



WEEK 18. 

Thursday. Bead Num. 10. My Silver Trumpet. 

If God is with me, my voice shall he like the 
silver trumpets of Moses. By my words shall 
men come together and move forward. In the 
days of gladness and on solemn festivals men 
will take up the note I sound. And it will not 
be because it is I, but because it is God; and God 
will speak through any one else as gladly as 
through me. 

Friday. Bead Numbers 11. My Grumbling. 

Whatever my lot, it is of the Lord. As direct 
as the manna from the sky, my fortune falls from 
the hand of my loving Father. And shall I com- 
plain? Shall I not rather rejoice? Whatever 
the day brings me, shall I not rejoice, since it 
brings me God? Shall I wish to exchange it for 
anything that will not be God? 

Saturday. Bead Numbers 12. My Jealousy. 

When I envy another his ability or position, or 
anything that is his, surely it is as a leprosy, eat- 
ing both body and soul. Pray for me, O Thou 
Second Moses, Thou Deliverer of Thy people, 
first that I may see my plague, and then that it 
may pass from me. 



42 



WEEK 19. 

WEEK 19. 

Sunday. Bead Numbers 13. My Giants. 

My Promised Land lies before me. It is mine, 
because God lias promised it to me ; and yet not 
mine, because I have not yet seized it. I have 
looked longingly at it. I have made faint-hearted 
excursions into it. But ah, the giants are there! 
They are big and strong, and I am weak and 
little; I am as a grasshopper. Alas, I forget 
Him in whose eyes all men, giants and pygmies 
alike, are but grasshoppers! 

Mon. Bead Num. 14- My Tardy Repentance. 

There is a " too late." There has been many a 
"too late " in my life. " To-day," when I might 
have heard His voice, has become "yesterday." 
What is left for me? To batter my head against 
the closed doors, the doors closed by my own 
folly? No; but to walk with the Lord all the 
rest of my days, past or into whatever doors He 
may choose. 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 15. My Blue Cord. 

Men no longer wear on their garments that 
cord of blue, but should they not all the more 
wear it on their hearts? Do I keep in perpetual 
remembrance God's known will for me? How 
distinct are His commandments in my view? 
How do I go about the firm remembrance of 
them? 

Wednesday. Bead Num. 16. My Rebellion. 

When the Lord sets others over me, in author- 
ity, position, influence, or ability, am I not as 
Koran, Dathan, and Abiram? Do I not forget 
that men are nothing, to stand high or sink low, 
but God is all in all? Let me live my life to Him 
alone, in humility and self-distrust, and so let me 
escape the pit, the fire, and the plague. 

43 



WEEK 19. 

Thursday. Bead Numbers 17. My Rod. 

May my life blossom and bear fruit! Though 
dry now, and withered, send Thou the sap 
through its dead veins, quicken it without roots, 
vivify it without life, and make of it an almond- 
tree, O God! Then will I lay up the marvel in 
my Most Holy Place, that I may give Thee praise 
forever. 

Friday. Bead Numbers 18. My Portion. 
Be the Lord my portion and my inheritance! He 
will not be, while I seek any other portion or 
inheritance. All such seeking is an affront to 
His graciousness. It is proof that He does not 
suffice. But Thou dost suffice, O Father. 

Saturday. Bead Numbers 19. My Cleanness. 
By how many rules, and what minuteness of 
parable, did God's own people need to be taught 
the necessity of purity! Not by their road, but 
by some road, however hard and long, I must 
reach the same end. My God is spotless purity, 
and I cannot reach Him while a hint of defile- 
ment rests upon me. 



44 



WEEK 20. 

WEEK 20. 

Sunday. Bead Numbers 20. My Meribah. 

Almost daily, almost hourly, I smite the rocks 
in my own strength. Every time I do this, I 
affront the Lord Almighty, I toss aside the teach- 
ings of my past, I play the fool. For if I should 
have learned anything from my life, it is that in 
myself I am nothing. Thus it is that I keep my- 
self out of my Canaans. 

Monday. Bead Num. 21. My Fiery Serpents. 

They surround me, stinging worries, poisonous 
doubts, crafty temptations, crawling iniquities, 
glittering sins. They assail me by day and 
night. They come up against me from the east 
and the west. I have no help but from the cross, 
and Him that was raised upon it. Oh, I will look 
to Him, and then I shall live indeed! 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 22. My Utterances. 

My words are my self. As they are spoken or 
withheld, I live— to the Lord of heaven, or the 
demons of hell. Let me watch the doors of my 
mouth. Before I speak, let me look to the Lord. 
Let me not at any time utter my words, but His. 
So alone can I live not my life but His. 

Wednesday. Bead Numbers 23. My Courage. 

Let me speak what pleases men or what dis- 
pleases them, and let me not care, if only it 
pleases God. I will not harshly disregard my 
fellows, but 1 will not fear them. I will be kind, 
but not servile. One is my Master, and they are 
my brethen. 

Thursday. Bead Numbers 24. My Insight. 

I, even I, may be such a prophet as Balaam, 
if I am such a hero as he was. To obedient 
hearts come inspirations. To worshipping eyes 

45 



WEEK 20. 

come visions. To courageous tongues come rev- 
elations. Thou dost know all mysteries O God, 
and I may know Thee! 

Friday. Bead Numbers 25. My Zeal. 

I would be red-hot lor God! No half-hearted 
service shall be mine, no luke-warm enmity of 
evil. It shall be war to the knife, and the knife 
to the hilt. Oh, my carelessness, my lackadaisi- 
cal sloth, my languid indifference, when the 
battle of eternal issues is on, and my Captain 
calls every soldier to the field! 

Saturday. Bead Num. 26. My Continuance. 

None left for the second numbering, save only 
Caleb and Joshua! Would I have had a place in 
that little roll of honor? Shall I have a place on 
the vast muster roll of the divine Moses? Let 
me meet my giants daily with that thought ever 
before me. 



46 



WEEK 21. 

WEEK 21. 

Sunday. Bead Numbers 27. My Successor. 

I should care less for my fame in my work than 
for the work's success. Let me not seek to be 
remembered after death, but that my work may 
be continued; let me be more eager for my suc- 
cessor than for my eulogy. For what am I, O 
Lord, that Thou dost deign to employ me at all? 

Monday. Bead Numbers 28. My Offerings. 

What reminders did the Israelites need of the 
sacrifices, what earnest repetitions! Not be- 
cause Jehovah needed to receive the sacrifices,— 
His are the cattle on a thousand hills,— but be- 
cause they sorely needed to give them. And my 
offerings? Ah, do not I also need a myriad of 
reminders, and even then go to them languidly? 
Why should not my longing desires be my only 
law-book? 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 29. My Set Feasts. 

Shall I say that every day is to be a sacred 
festival? Yes; but only as at stated times I 
observe due days of worship and thanksgiving. 
Consecration is born of habit, and habit is born 
of practice, and practice is born of system. I 
must be bound before I can be free. 

Wednesday. Bead Numbers 30. My Vows. 
What are my vows to God? Are they only the 
words I take upon my lips? Are they not also 
the mercies I receive from His hands, the situa- 
tions in which I allow myself to be placed, the 
whole tenor of the life I so gladly accept? And 
shall I hold myself only to the few petty obliga- 
tions I seal with my tongue? 

Thursday. Bead Numbers 31. MyMidians. 

I will have implacable hostilities. I will set 

my face "like a flame against all that God hates. 

47 



WEEK 21. 

My war shall be endless and greedy against 
them. I will be a raging lion, a ravening wolf. 
There shall be no compromise, no quarter, for 
that which my God hates. 

Friday. Read Num. 32. My Brotherhood. 

Is my dwelling apart? Has my inheritance 
fallen in solitude? None the less does my duty 
lie in the crowd. The solitude is pleasant, but 
selfish. It will be a hell to me, though a Gilead, 
if I cannot carry to it the spirit of brotherhood. 

Saturday. Read Numbers 33. My Journeys. 

Well that the Israelites did not know, before 
they set out, how long was the way, how many 
were the* stages! Well for us also that we have 
no prospectus of the coming years. God knows 
them all, and, if we let Him, will guide us safely 
through them all, giving us daily strength for the 
daily road. 



48 



WEEK 22. 

WEEK 22. 

Sunday. Bead Numbers 34. My Inheritance. 

What an inspiring thought that God has laid 
out for me an inheritance as broad, as rich, and 
as accurately measured as this He ordained for 
His chosen people! I have only to walk in His 
ways, and at the end of the road I shall find my 
estate. It is already surveyed. Its fields stretch 
far and beautiful. And in the centre is the 
" mansion prepared." 

Monday. Read Num. 35. My City of Refuge. 

Praise God, I do not live in a time when men 
need an earthly city of refuge, with stone walls 
and an open gate! My refuge is always at hand, 
and needs no running to it. There is no doubt of 
my reception. Entered in, I am safe from all 
pursuers. For my city of refuge is the heart of 
Jesus Christ. 

Tuesday. Bead Numbers 36. My Tribe. 

How much of my life is not mine! How much 
has come to me without my toil or thought, from 
my father and mother, from neighbors and 
friends, from the patriots and saints who have 
built my church, my college, my nation! And 
my life is due in turn, in great measure, to these 
persons and institutions that have done so much 
for me. May I not alienate their right in me! 

Wednesday. Bead Beut. 1. My Retrospect. 

It is good to take such a review of the past as 
Moses took. Let me dare to reckon up my dis- 
obediences. Let me count God's kindnesses. 
Let me see the good way He has led me hitherto. 
Let me bow in contrition and in prayer. Let me 
say to my God, "Henceforth I am Thine; do 
Thou lead me." 

49 



WEEK 22. 

Thursday. Bead Deuteronomy 2. My Sihons. 

I know them! I make them fair offers, but 
they refuse. I will not harm them, hut tbey 
scout me. I offer commerce, they draw the 
sword. I, even I, have my enemies. But they 
are God's enemies, too, if I am God's, as Moses 
was ; and they shall not stand before me. 

Friday. Bead Deut. S. My Forbidden Canaan. 

It looks so fair, across the Jordan! For so 
long a time I have been journeying to it, and now 
to be shut out! Ah, but who shuts me out? It is 
not God ; it is my sin. Let me not blame God, 
but rather praise Him, that He is a God of jus- 
tice, and not of weak yielding. 

Saturday. Bead Deuteronomy 4* My God. 
Who has a God like my God? I will exult in 
Him, as Moses exulted. Verily, He is high and 
lifted up! I will rejoice in His power. I will 
comfort me in His wisdom. His love shall over- 
shadow me in the heat. Oh, who has a God like 
my God? 



50 



WEEK 23. 

WEEK 23. 

Sun. Bead Deut. 5. My Ten Commandments. 

Some of them are easy for me ; but they are all 
for me, the hard as well as the easy. And some 
are very hard. Lord, let me not rest in the easy 
ones! Lord, let me not rest in the easy obser- 
vance of any of them by the letter! Lord, en- 
grave Thy Ten Words upon my heart! 

Monday. Bead Deuteronomy 6. My Memory. 

There is enough in my past to furnish ample 
warning for the future, would I only keep it 
before me. There is enough encouragement to 
fill with power all my remaining years, and 
enough happiness to irradiate them with joy. 
Let me not throw away the life I have lived. 

Tuesday. Bead Deuteronomy 7. My Enemies. 

My friends shall not be found among God's 
foes. Those that are against God shall find me 
against them. There shall be no compromise, 
no alliance, no breach of my loyalty. I shall not 
wish to be held " liberal," where God is not 
"liberal." 

Wednesday. Bead Deuteronomy 8. My Pride. 

In this chapter I see myself. God makes it all 
possible for me. God gives me the opportunity 
and the power. I grasp the opportunity, fill up 
its waiting measure, and then boast within my- 
self, " My power has done it." Oh, to know my 
littleness! Oh, for a sane and humble heart! 

Thursday. Bead Deut. 9. My Past Sins. 

Had I a faithful Moses, to rehearse my evil 
past, to paint it in black, to push it ever before 
my eyes! I remember my* good deeds very well, 
but my memory is poor for my sins. Lord, be 

51 



WEEK 23. 

Thou the daily quickenp of my conscience. My 
Father, mercifully remind Thy erring son of his 
many wanderings. 

Friday. Bead Deuteronomy 10. My Duty. 

What does God require of me, more than of 
His ancient people? What, save to fear Him, 
and love Him, and serve Him? And my fear— is 
forgetfulness; and my love— is heedlessness; and 
my service— is perfunctory. O heart, my heart, 
arouse thee! Think how it will be with thee at 
the sight of the King in His glory! 

Sat. Bead Deut. 11. My Treasure of Truth. 

How material is my life, how hound to the things 
of sense! The treasures I lay up with satisfac- 
tion,— are they of wisdom? The richness of my 
house, the stores I value, the aims I set before 
others in my conversations,— are they of this 
world, or another? Let me turn from all this 
folly. Let me lay up God's words in my heart. 



52 



WEEK 24. 

WEEK 24. 

Sunday. Bead Deut. 12. My Pleasures. 
Let me never fancy that my Father wishes for 
me anything less than my delight. " After all 
the desire of thy soul"— that is His word to me, 
as to His people of old. He is not satisfied that 
I am dutiful; He wants me to be joyful. 

Monday. Bead Deut. 13. My Temptations. 

In mSny ways I am enticed away from the 
Lord. False voices allure me, false gods attract 
me, false friends beckon me. I have no safety 
but the way Moses pointed out. Let me kill my 
temptations! Let me hate them with a deadly 
hatred! Yes, though they spring from my own 
household, from my own bosom! 

Tuesday. Bead Deuteronomy 14. My Food. 
Shall I say that these Mosaic laws regarding 
food are abolished? that Christ has made "all 
meats clean "? That is true; and yet God cares 
as much as ever that I should eat only what is 
healthful. He has written His law in my mem- 
bers, and I can read it there, as the ancient 
Hebrews could not. Let me not wilfully neglect 
it. 

Wednesday. Bead Deuteronomy 15. My Poor. 

Are they not the Lord's poor ? Did I make 
them poor ? Do I keep them poor ? Why should 
I be impoverished because of them ? Ah, I shall 
not be impoverished ! Giving does not impover- 
ish, nor does withholding enrich. It is withhold- 
ing that impoverishes; for they are God's poor, 
and my wealth is God's, and I am His ! 

Thurs. Bead Deut. 16. My Commemorations. 

On such a date God saved me from a great sin. 
On such another date, He raised me from a 

53 



WEEK 24. 

severe illness. Again he answered my agonized 
prayer for a loved one. What were those dates ? 
Why do I allow them to slip from memory ? Why 
are they not become annual festivals ? 

Friday. Bead Deuteronomy 17, My Kings. 
I have set over me many earthly authorities,— 
my rulers, my friends, my employers, my elder 
relatives, my pastor. Let them all he subordinate 
to the King of kings ! I will choose them by His 
guidance. I will obey them in His fear. 

Saturday. Read Deut. IS. My Prophet. 
I sorely need a prophet, one who shall guide 
me with wisdom, encourage me with confidence, 
comfort me with praise, rebuke me with fidelity. 
How rare are these qualities, even among friends ! 
But such a Prophet has God raised up, for me 
and for all men. And I will be His son. 



54 



WEEK 25. 

WEEK 25. 

Sunday. Bead Deut. 19. My Unplanned Sins. 

So much harm I do unwittingly! Yet am I not 
to blame? My speech was not malicious; yet it 
cut, because it was careless. My neglect was 
not premeditated, just heedless; so, perhaps all 
the more, it stung. Lord, I need Thy forgiveness, 
the refuge of Thy mercy, for these unplanned 
sins, quite as much as for those of intention. 

Monday. Bead Deut. 20. My Confidence. 

The Lord is with me. His omnipotence. His 
omniscience. His eagerness to give me of His 
almightiness and His unfailing guidance. Yet I 
cower and tremble. Yet, oh, paltry wretch that I 
am! I run to the rear in the battle. 

Tuesday. Bead Deuteronomy 21. My Justice. 

There is much in my life that is like " the son 
of the hated," much that has a claim upon me, 
a righteous claim, but inclination runs averse to 
it. Let me learn to set justice far above inclina- 
tion. Let me learn how shallow are my fancies, 
and discover the delight of duty. Let my choice 
be never my own till it is also my God's. 

Wed. Bead Deut. 22. My Brother's Loss. 

I am to help my brother recover his property, 
his cattle when they stray, his purse when it is 
lost. How, when his conscience goes astray? 
How, when his honor is lost? 

Thursday. Bead Deuteronomy 23. My Vows. 

What the Lord wishes of me, that I must do, 
and I am not free to vow it or not vow it. Let 
me do more than is required. Let me add a heap- 
ing measure. Let me vow freewill offerings. 
And then let me sedulously perform my vows. 

55 



WEEK 25. 

Friday. Bead Dent. 24. My Charities. 

A poor man is such a sorrow to my God, such a 
grief to wealthy heaven ! And I am made so rich 
by the Father! Is it not that I may make others 
rich also? How shall I enjoy anything by my- 
self, until all men abound? 

Saturday. Bead Bent. 25. My Measures. 

Before gain, let me value honesty, and before 
applause, let me honor sincerity. May every 
weight and measure of my life be just,— what I 
give others for what others give me, of money, 
or praise, or position, or love. Let me remem- 
ber that there are many ways of being a thief. 



58 



WEEK 26. 



WEEK 26. 



Sunday. Read Deuteronomy 26. My Tithe. 

Surely God would have all my gifts to be free- 
will offerings. He sets up no counter before 
Hirn. And surely God would have all my gifts 
liberal ones. Surely, too, God would have His 
people grow in liberality, and in love of His 
Kingdom. Surely He would have me give to 
His cause more than the tithe of the ancient 
Hebrew! 

Monday. Read Deuteronomy 21 '. My Curses. 

The curses that come upon me have not been 
imposed upon me by another man, still less by 
God. My own heart has recited them. My own 
conscience has said Amen to them. As they are 
my sins, so are they my curses. Fool that I am! 

Tuesday. Read Deut. 28. My Blessings. 

When I do God's will, when I observe His 
commandments, the blessings that follow are 
part of the deeds, as light is part of heat. This 
is not because I bring the blessings, any more 
than because I do the deeds. Ah, no! Both 
deeds and blessings are of God. 

Wednesday. Read Deut. 29. My Covenant. 

I am in a league with the Most High ! I am al- 
lied with the Almighty! Were such an honor 
mine from an earthly king, how proud I should 
be to hold it untarnished! Much more, then, 
since the honor has come to me from the King 
of kings. 

Thursday. Read Deuteronomy 30. My Word. 

The Word that is to guide me in every per- 
plexity, that is to comfort me softly in every 
grief, that is to arouse me in every despondency, 
and warn me in every error, and encourage me 

57 



WEEK 26. 

in every faltering, and praise me in every 
achievement,— is not far off, hard to reach; it 
has been placed by my loving Father in my own 
heart. Dear God, I thank Thee. 

Friday. Read Deuteronomy SI. My Joshua. 

I am not Moses, but I have a work that I have 
been doing, and that needs to be continued. I am 
doing it only for to-day and not for to-morrow 
unless I provide for its continuance. Let me 
seek out my Joshua. Let me instruct him and 
train him. 

Saturday. Bead Deuteronomy 32. My Rock. 

As I look back over my life, I see God more 
and more as a Rock. My Rock of shadow from 
the sun, of defence from the enemy, the home of 
springs, the foundation of my abode. I will 
have no other Rock. Upon it 1 will rest my 
eternity. 



WEEK 27. 

WEEK 27. 

Sunday. Read Beut. 33. My Blessings. 

I do not need a Moses to declare my blessings 
on his death-bed, for a living God, my Father in 
heaven and earth, has declared them. They are 
as many as His thoughts for me, as happy as His 
love for me, as firm as His arms beneath me. 
They are my goods, and in them alone will I re- 
joice. 

Monday. Read Deuteronomy 34. My Pisgahs. 

Let me not, like Moses, see the promised land 
afar, and be forbidden to enter it. My sins rise 
up before me, O my God! They are high as 
heaven, but not so high as Thy mercy. Upon 
Thy loving kindness, as a golden stairway, I will 
surmount my sins, and so shall I reach my Ca- 
naan. 

Tuesday. Read Joshua 1. My Success. 

I am assuming heavy burdens, borne by the 
giants that went before me ; but their God is my 
God. I am facing perils that even they did not 
face ; but the strength on which they drew is at 
my disposal. Before me is this Jordan ; yes, but 
the Lord goeth before me ! 

Wednesday. Read Joshua 2. My Safety. 

In the destruction that will come upon all 
things, what is the scarlet cord that I may find in 
my window? Is it the good deeds that I have 
done? Ah, no! for where are they? I have done 
less than my duty. It is the scarlet cord of the 
atonement, the token of my Saviour's mercy. In 
that sign I shall be safe. 

Thursday. Read Joshua 3. My Jordan. 

The river rolls threateningly before me, over- 
flowing all its banks. My foes are ranged on the 



WEEK 27. 

other side. How shall I advance against these 
difficulties? I need not mind the how, but only- 
advance. The Ark goes before me. The diffi- 
culties turn aside, and leave a firm path for my 
feet. There are no difficulties to him that walks 
with God. 

Friday. Bead Joshua 4- My Memorial. 
Where in my life have I set up a monument to 
God's goodness? "Where in my life is there not 
such goodness to commemorate? Let me bring 
words, as the Israelites brought stones, and let 
me rehearse the loving kindness of God, and let 
me say to all men, "He is my God, faithful and 
true. Serve ye Him!" 

Saturday. Bead Joshua 5. My Gilgal. 

Whatever is of Egypt, let me purge it from my 
life! Let me put off the old man, and put on the 
new! Let me cease to look backward, and look 
forward! At whatever cost, I am now for the 
Lord's land, and the Lord's work, purely and al- 
together! 



60 



WFEK 28. 

WEEK 28. 
Sunday. Bead Joshua 6. My Jericho. 
I will trust in the Lord's way, and not in my 
own. My way may be with cannon and shot and 
all the munitions of war. His way may seem ab- 
surdly inadequate to the gigantic task. But it is 
His way, and before it Jericho will fall; while 
for my way, however the cannons roar, not one 
stone will topple. 

Monday. Bead Joshua 7. My Ai. 

My only strength is in obedience. When I dis- 
obey, I faint. When I touch what the Lord bids 
me not to touch, and keep what He forbids my 
keeping, and seek what He would have me 
avoid, I am as water before my foes, and all my 
power is emptiness. O my God, every day let 
me remember Ai. 

Tuesday. Bead Joshua 8, My Recovery. 
If there is in my life an Ai defeat, there may be 
as weU an Ai victory. God is as able to lift me 
up as to cast me down. If disobedience brings 
defeat, as certainly will obedience bring the 
victory. Obedience is a philosopher's stone that 
will transmute all my life to gold. 

Wednesday. Bead Joshua 9. My Gibeon. 
What mistakes I make, when I " ask not coun- 
sel at the mouth of the Lord " ! My foes are 
very crafty. The devil has a thousand wiles. 
There seem so many reasons why I should make 
my peace with the world. Many of these reasons 
will present themselves to-day. Lord, at every 
sach appeal let me turn to Thee, and seek coun- 
sel of Thy wisdom alone. 

Thursday. Bead Joshua 10. My Triumphs. 
Let me have no enemies but the Lord's ene- 
mies, for those are the only ones I shall conquer. 

61 



WEEK 28. 

Let me have all the Lord's enemies as my ene- 
mies, for not one of them shall remain. If I seem 
to be victorious without God, let me run in ter- 
ror, for all disaster is impending. 

Friday. Bead Joshua 11. My Conquests. 
How great is the land the Lord designs for me? 
As great as my enemies are! As large as my ob- 
stacles are! As extensive as my difficulties ! 
Shall I grieve, then, because I meet opposition? 
I am meeting my kingdom! 

Saturday. Bead Joshua 12. My Kings. 
These were the kings, thirty and one, that the 
Hebrews conquered, and they with no king 
among them! Ah, but they had a king among 
them, even the King of kings! Who am I, that 
I should envy rank, or seek a worldly station? 
Am I not the son of the only King? 



WEEK 29. 

WEEK 29. 

Sunday. Bead Josh. 13. My Eemaining Work. 

So much left undone! So much land remaining 
to he possessed! The command was large and 
the accomplishment discouragingly small. Yet 
let me not be despondent, if I have done my best. 
All eternity is yet before me, for results. On 
earth is only a beginning of obedience. 

Monday. Bead Joshua 14- My Hebron. 

Let me be a Caleb! Let me choose the hard 
things, mountains rather than plains, rocks 
rather than loam! Even in old age, may the same 
sturdy spirit remain in me. For the Lord dwells 
among the hills. 

Tuesday. Bead Joshua 15. My Anakim. 

For me, as for Caleb, the hills are full of Ana- 
kim. I must drive them out, for my inheritance 
lies there. I must not heed their height, nor the 
fierceness of their faces, not their battle-cries 
and brandished spears. T must only remember 
my Ally, and my inheritance. 

Wednesday. Bead Joshua 16. My Servants. 

The Canaanites were not driven out from Eph- 
raim,— ah, slowly knelling prophecy of all the 
woe to come ! They were held as servants. They 
were doubtless useful. What danger from ser- 
vants? The danger that always lies in disobedi- 
ence. Those were the servants that mastered 
Israel. 

Thursday. Bead Josh. 17. My Enlargement. 

God does not hem in the children of Joseph, 
nor the children of any one else. If we are great 
people, we may hew out for ourselves a great in- 
heritance. There is no holding back in the plans 

63 



WEEK 29. 

of Providence. As fast as I am able to move for- 
ward, God opens the way before me. 

Friday. Bead Joshua 18. My Entrance. 

The blessings may be mine. God has given 
them to me. I have broken down the barriers 
before them, and driven out the enemies. Yet 
I do not hold them till I enter in and possess 
them. How strangely slow am I to seize upon 
and enjoy the Christian delights that are right- 
fully mine! 

Saturday. Bead Joshua 19. My Surplus. 

Judah's portion was too much for Judah, there- 
fore Simeon had a share in it, dwelling in the 
midst of Judah's inheritance. Do I ever stop to 
consider whether God has not given me more 
than I need? Perhaps the inheritance He de- 
signs for some one else is right in the midst of 
the inheritance I am holding as wholly mine. 
Lord, keep me from the damning sin of selfish- 
ness! 



m 



WEEK 30. 

WEEK 30. 

Sunday. Bead Joshua 20. My Safety. 
What matter how many pursue me? If I am 
innocent, I am safe. Though men misunder- 
stand me, and even though my deed seems to 
condemn me, God understands me, and His voice 
in my conscience acquits me. The law is my 
city of refuge against fleshly harm, but I need no 
human law to give me peace of soul. 

Monday. Bead Joshua 21. My Enemies. 

As God delivered into the hands of the He- 
brews all their foes, so He will never allow an 
enemy to stand before me, if I am His. All my 
foes shall fall, and their cities shall fall, strong- 
holds material and spiritual. I have only to be 
on the side of the Omnipotent. 

Tuesday. Bead Joshua 22. My Altar of Ed. 

When I am farthest from the privileges of 
God's house, still let the thought of it be very 
near. Let me rear in my heart an altar of wit- 
ness. Let my life be a moving tent like the 
tabernacle, with its holy place and its holy of 
holies. I love the courts of the Lord's house, 
but it is because they symbolize that country in 
which there is no temple save the Son of God 
Himself. 

Wednesday. Bead Joshua 23. My Eetrospect. 

I do not often review my past. As often as I 
do, I am encouraged, and warned. I am en- 
couraged by perceiving God's constancy. He has 
always fulfilled His word. He has always re- 
warded obedience. He has always put to flight 
my foes. And I am warned. For as I look back 
I am sure that all my good is from God, and as I 
am God's. Without Him, it will all be evil. 

65 



WEEK 30. 

Thursday. Read Joshua 24* My Covenant. 
It is hard to serve the Lord, for He is a holy 
God; He is a jealous God. It is easy to serve 
the Lord, for He is a merciful God ; He is a lov- 
ing God. By its difficulty aud its ease, by my 
duty and my delight, by my fear and my love, I 
will serve the Lord! 

Friday. Read Judges 1. My Tributaries. 

The Lord would have me drive from my life all 
servants of Satan, all evil fancies, all doubtful 
ambitions, all worldly lusts. Shall I retain them 
as tributaries? Shall I think to make gain of 
them? There is no gain to be got from them. 
There is no gain but in obedience to the Lord. 

Saturday. Read Judges 2. My Forgetfulness. 

Continually, like the Hebrews, I forget the 
conditions of prosperity and joy. Continually I 
am basing my life on worldly policy. Continually 
I am neglecting my charter, and disregarding 
my patent, and forfeiting my title. No wonder I 
lose my kingdom! 



66 



WEEK 31. 

WEEK 31. 

Sunday. Bead Judges 3. My Deliverances. 

" The Lord raised up a deliverer for me "—how 
many sentences like that must I insert in my 
life story! And every time the necessity for the 
deliverer is my own folly and sin. How endless is 
God's patience, how tireless are God's resources, 
how active is God's love! 

Monday. Bead Judges 4* My Glory. 

I am to -go out against the foes of my God. I 
am to move at God's command and not at my 
own desire. I am not to fight for my own glory. 
The glory may go to a woman, to a child! I am 
not striving for glory, hut for obedience. 

Tuesday. Bead Judges 5. My Praise. 

It is not I that fight, when I go out before the 
Lord. The stars in their courses fight for me. 
All nature, all men, all subtle influences of 
heaven, fight for me. I will praise the Lord for 
my victories, since they are not mine. I will 
shout aloud. I will leap with joy. I will not be a 
churl with my thanksgiving. 

Wednesday. Bead Judges 6. My Signs. 

God has given me more tokens of His presence 
and power than ever He gave Gideon ; for I have 
Gideon's, and mine also. God has proved Him- 
self to me whenever I sought proof. He has not 
failed in any test. He has surpassed all His 
promises. He has given me every cause to trust 
Him, and every warrant to engage in His cause. 

Thursday. Bead Judges 7. My Sword. 

I call it my sword— my intellect, and strength, 
and opportunities, and talents. And it is my 
sword, as it was Gideon's; my task, as it was 
Gideon's. But it is also the sword of the Lord. 

67 



WEEK 31. 

Because it is His also, I shall venture to wield it, 
and I shall not dare to let it lie idle. Because it 
is His also, it will prevail. 

Friday. Bead Judges 8. My Authority. 
When God places me in power, though it be 
only power over a servant, or an assistant, or a 
little child, let me refuse to rule over my sub- 
ordinate. Let me nobly say, as Gideon said, " I 
will not rule: the Lord shall rule." Power is a 
trust from Him, as money is a trust, or any 
ability. And He shall do His will with His own. 

Saturday. Bead Judges 9. My Requital. 

Be it verily known to me that every least sin of 
mine shall return upon my head. Not only the 
great sins, terrible as Abimelech's, but the sins 
of heedlessness, the little sins I have forgotten. 
They are not forgotten by God. If I do not pro- 
cure forgiveness, they will not be forgotten by me. 



68 



WEEK 32. 

WEEK 32. 

Sunday. Bead Judges 10. My Monotony. 

Though my life be humdrum or diversified, I 
find in it a sorrowful monotony of evil. I am like 
the ancient Hebrews, after each deliverance re- 
turning again to my sin. How many, many times I 
have done this! Surely at some time God will 
say to me, " I will save you no more." And my 
heart cannot blame Him. 

Monday. Bead Judges 11. My Sacrifices. 

The Lord wants nothing from me to my hurt, 
or the hurt of any one dear to me. The Lord is 
not purchased by my pain. I need not buy His 
favors by my loss. I need not in any way make 
myself a Jephthah. 

Tuesday. Bead Judges 12. My Shibboleth. 

Let me be very sure that my shibboleth is a 
wise one. Let it truly separate between friends 
and foes,— not mine, but God's. Let it be no 
trifling test, but one piercing to the root of the 
matter. For tests are needed, only let them ac- 
curately testify of wrong and right. 

"Wednesday. Bead Judges 13. My Offspring. 

Whether children, or deeds, or words, or the 
silent influence of character, every one gives 
birth to some offspring whereby the world is 
better or worse. To every one, therefore, comes 
the divine warning that came to the wife of 
Manoah: Keep away from all uncleanness, for 
the sake of your offspring and the world. 

Thursday. Bead Judges 14. My Jesting. 
My sport shall be such as becomes a man,— 
frank and gallant, innocent and gay, tender as a 
woman, yet sturdy as a hero. It shall be orig- 
inal,— no other's way, but my own. It shall be 

69 



WEEK 32. 

thoughtful, not such as ever to shame me. By 
my play as by my work I am to he judged. 

Friday. Bead Judges 15. My Weapon. 

If the spirit of the Lord comes upon me, I 
shall seize whatever lies nearest, and I shall 
find it a tool of conquest. I will not fret for 
means; I will only strive for the spirit of the 
Lord. I will not seek out a way; I will seek 
Him who is the Way. 

Saturday. Bead Judges 16. My Delilah. 

What is it that weakens me for the service of 
the Lord? That is my Delilah. It will be some- 
thing I love, something that fascinates me, some- 
thing that draws me continually to itself. And 
I have no safety except by flight. I may not 
play with it, palter with it, try how near 1 can go 
to it. Soon the sharp razor, soon the sapped 
power, soon the blindness and the prisonhouse. 



70 



WEEK 33. 

WEEK 33. 

Sunday. Read Judges 17. My Home Worship, 
I must not be outdone by idolaters, or by men 
that groped in the darkness of ancient times. If 
they sought God for their homes, how much more 
should 1? If they would have household priests, 
how much more should 1 be a priest in my house- 
hold? Let my house be a true temple of God, and ' 
let every room be a holy place. 

Monday. Read Judges 18. My Counsel. 

I cannot live close to God without helping all 
men around me to live closer to God. I cannot 
make for myself a household of God without lead- 
ing others to seek God for their own households. 
Piety is blessedly contagious, and the fruits of 
holiness are desirable even in the eyes of world- 
lings. 

Tuesday. Read Judges 19. My Hospitality. 

At all cost, I must entertain strangers, for in so 
doing I am entertaining Christ. What matter 
though the strangers are aliens? though they are 
disagreeable, and diseased, and their coming will 
expose me to ridicule and abuse? All this is only 
a disguise of my Lord, and my reward will be the 
greater if I pierce though the disguise and wel- 
come Him. 

Wednesday. Read Judg. 20. My Punishment. 

For every deed of churlish selfishness, for every 
act of cruelty, for every curt indifference and 
ne*glect. my punishment is sure, I may delay it, 
but it will come= I may hold off the armies of re- 
venge, but they will be in wait against me, and 
take me unaware. There is no cheating Jehovah- 
Thursday. Read Judges 21. My Pity. 

After punishment, what? Forgetfulness and 
sorrow! After a man is deservedly cast down, 

71 



WEEK 33. 

what? Help him up again! O God, who art 
daily obliged to forgive me so much, guard me 
from censoriousness toward others! Let me not 
remember their sin, as 1 would not have Thee re- 
member mine, and let me restore them as I would 
be restored. 

Friday. Read Ruth 1. My Fidelity. 

Am I a friend for all times? Is mine a fair- 
weather love? Do I cleave to others while they 
are above me and can uphold me, but cast them 
off when they fall into sorrow? Oh, for the faith- 
fulness of Ruth! It is better than a crown of 
gold, and all the diamonds that ever shone. 

Saturday. Read Ruth 2. My Friends, 
I am not afraid, if I am friendly, but God will 
raise up friends for me. My faithfulness will in- 
spire fidelity in others, and my considerateness 
will make them thoughtful of me. I would not do 
good deeds in order to get a return of good, but 
that return is pleasant none the less J 



72 



WEEK 34. 



WEEK 34. 



Sunday. Bead Buth 3, My Righteousness. 

There is a dearer than delight, and that is 
honor. There is a more precious thing than joy, 
and that is uprightness. If my pleasure ought to 
he another's, it shall be no pleasure in my life, its 
name for me shall be aversion. 

Monday. Bead Bath 4* My Reward. 

For every good deed I do with the Lord's 
strength, the Lord Himself recompenses me 
many fold. I am almost ashamed to take it, for 
the strength was not mine, nor was the deed 
mine. How good is my God to me! 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Samuel 1. My Petitions. 

How much I ask of the Lord, that He is not able 
to grant! He longs to grant it, I know, but He 
cannot, because I am not able to receive it. His 
gifts must be used in His way. He will not give 
to my hurt, or the hurt of His world. Let me 
cease asking for the gift, and begin to ask for 
readiness for the gift. 

Wed. Bead 1 Samuel 2, My Responsibilities. 

I have to live, not my own life alone, but the 
lives of all whom I may influence. Are any de- 
pendent upon me for guidance? Am I an Eli, 
and where are my Hophni and Phinehas? Let 
me see to my children and friends, my pupils and 
acquaintances and servants. These are in my 
keeping, and as I keep them the Lord will keep 
me. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Samuel 3. My Listening. 

Have I the hearing ear? In the night or the 
daytime, in solitude or the crowd, am I ready to 
catch the messages of Jehovah? Am I quick to 
say, with Samuel, "Speak; for Thy servant 

73 



WEEK 34. 

heareth"? Lord, quicken my spirit. Lord, 
make me sensitive to the least whisper from Thee. 

Friday. Bead 1 Samuel 4- My Retribution. 
The ark of the Lord will not remain with the 
unfaithful. God's protection and love cannot 
enwrap the disobedient. Death is in failure to do 
God's will, and the death begins with the failure. 
Alas, for those that are the Lord's in name, hut 
do not the things that He says! 

Saturday. Bead 1 Samuel 5. My Reverence. 
If I will not revere the Lord through love, He 
will see that I revere Him through fear. He is 
merciful, hut He is also majestic; tender, but also 
terrible. He will have no false gods in my life. 
He will whirl them from their pedestals. Fortu- 
nate am I if I am not sent whirling after them. 



74 



WEEK 35. 

WEEK 35. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Sam. 6. My Guilt Offerings. 

When I have sinned against God, wherewith 
shall I return to Him? He is not in need of my 
gold or silver. He does not lack for my strength. 
What have I to fill my hands, when I return to 
the Lord? I need not ask that question. The 
guilt offering has been made, it has been laid at 
the foot of the throne, it has been found worthy. 
Oh, endless praise to Thee, Thou Sacrifice of the 
world i 

Monday. Bead 1 Samuel 7. My Ebenezer. 

If I should raise stones of help wherever the 
Lord has helped me, I should be walled all about 
with gratitude. Why should I not do this? 
Not in crude material, perhaps, but in thoughts 
and in words. For Thou art my defence, O God, 
forever. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Samuel 8. My Kings. 

All my tyrants I have myself set over me. I 
have not only assented to their harsh sway, 
but I have urged them to their thrones, I have 
bent my neck spontaneously under their yokes. 
Oh, for the yoke, the one yoke, that is easy, the 
one burden that is light! 

Wed. Bead 1 Samuel 9. My Humble Duty. 

It is not only Saul that, seeking his father's 
asses, has found a kingdom. Men and women 
innumerable, while trudging painfully along 
life's common way, have lifted their foreheads to 
the anointing oil, have stretched out their hands 
to the sceptre. All good things for me— let me 
never forget it— lie along the path of God's will 
for me. 

75 



WEEK 35. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Sain. 10. My Coronation. 

If God intends a crown for me, and I do God's 
will, let me never worry about the crown! Upon 
all the waves of chance it will be borne to me. 
Amid all the apparent lotteries of the world I 
shall find it. There is no chance, there is only a 
regal certainty, to one that does God's will. 

Friday. Bead 1 Samuel 11. My Gilgal. 

Who are they that reject me and despise me? 
Are they men? I shall laugh, if God is on my 
side. I shall hold my peace, and let events 
speak for me. I shall stay my arm, and let God's 
providence be my revenge. For every Mizpah 
of His servants, God will make ready a Gilgal. 

Saturday. Bead 1 Samuel 12. My Honor. 

When men turn aside from me, let me solace 
my honor in caring for the Lord's. It boots not 
what they think of me. I shall be proud in His 
renown, and by His glory alone shall I be exalted. 
Oh, may my plea never be for myself! 



76 



WEEK 36. 

WEEK 36. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Samuel 13. My Obedience 

Though God's command seem unreasonable, it 
is to be obeyed, for it is not unreasonable. It is 
to be obeyed in the letter, for the Spirit is in the 
letter. It is to be obeyed in the spirit, for the 
letter without the spirit is dead. It is to be 
obeyed altogether and always, and with all my 
soul. * 

Monday. Bead 1 Samuel 14- My Salvation. 

When I am in peril, let me not even reckon up 
the force on my side and the power of my enemy. 
" There is no restraint to the Lord to save by 
many or by few." I am an army, with God. I 
outnumber all my foes, with God. 

Tues. Bead 1 Sam. IS. My Half-Obedience. 

God will have all or none. When He asks for 
a ram He will not accept a sheep ; when He asks 
for my money He will not accept my time. When 
He wants my heart He will not take my hand. 
He has no delight in sacrifices, when they are 
not the sacrifices of a contrite heart. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Samuel 16. My Choice. 

Let me learn to select as God selects, among 
men, and occupations, and powers, and posses- 
sions. Let me learn the wealth of the childlike 
soul, the strength of purity, the invincible valor 
of holiness. In all my choices let me set the 
youthful David above all the taller sous of Jesse. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Samuel 17. My Goliath. 

It may be some natural weakness or defect. 
It may be some sickness. It may be poverty or 
loneliness. It may be a terrible temptation. 
Whatever my Goliath is, let me remember 
David's great word, that "the battle is the 

77 



WEEK 36. 

Lord's." God can make a pebble from the brook 
more powerful than a spear-head of six hundred 
shekels. 

Friday. Bead 1 Samuel 18. My Popularity. 

Have I many friends? Let me enjoy them 
and bless God for them, but let me not rest my 
life in them. Woe unto me when all men speak 
jyell of me! Human praise breeds enmity in 
others and vanity in myself. Let me seek God's 
praise alone. 

Saturday. Bead 1 Samuel 19. My Jealousy. 

What would it avail me to have the greatness 
of Saul, if I also have his littleness? And what 
is smaller than jealousy? What is more dwarf- 
ing? Lord, may I learn to exult in my friend's 
good fortune, to rejoice in his skill, and count 
myself happy when he is praised. So shall I be 
richer in all the riches of my friends. 



78 



WEEK 37. 



WEEK 37. 



Sunday. Bead 1 Samuel 20. My Friendship. 
If I am a friend to another, let my friendship 
prove itself. It will find its proof not in pros- 
perity but in adversity. If I am a friend from 
the heart, I shall grieve with my friend's sorrow, 
and meet his enemies as if they were my own. I 
shall not shrink before any foe, nor fear any 
danger save that I prove false to friendship. 

Monday. Read 1 Samuel 21. My Privileges. 

All that the Father has is mine. His house is 
mine. His table is spread for me. No Holy 
Place too holy for me to enter, no shew bread too 
sacred for me to take, no consecrated weapon 
too precious for me to wield. God keeps open 
house and open heart for all His children. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Sam. 22. My Recompense. 

When I do a good deed, as Ahimelech did, 
shall I meet Ahimelech's fate? Perhaps; God 
does not guarantee worldly rewards for un- 
worldly acts. But Ahimelech's death was not 
Ahimelech's reward. His reward was in David's 
love, and the everlasting record of the Book, and 
the approval of the King of kings forever. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Samuel 23. My Escape. 

If not by my arm, then by another's ; if not in 
my way, then in a better way I had not thought 
of; if not with glory to me, then with better glory 
to Himself ; somehow, at any rate, the Lord will 
save me from all my foes. It is mine to do my 
best, and to trust, and wait. It is mine also to 
praise, for I am safe, and I shall be saved. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Samuel 24. My Revenge. 

Ever be my revenge such as David's! As per- 
sistently as my enemy shows himself a foe, soper- 

79 



WEEK 37. 

sistently let me show myself a friend. Let my 
warfare be of kindness, and all my weapons be 
forged in the fire of love. 

Friday, Read 1 Samuel 25. My Anger. 

There is a rough handle and a smooth handle 
whereby to grasp each circumstance. May I 
seize upon the smooth handle! Be my speech 
gentle, my acts courteous, and let my thoughts 
move peacefully. So shall I be ever the stronger, 
and so shall my ways be prosperous. 

Saturday. Read 1 Samuel 26. My Patience. 

When others persist in wronging me, what is 
my hurt compared with theirs? They are not 
slaying me, they are slaying their own souls. 
They are not destroying my happiness, but their 
own, and forever. Is not pity due them, rather 
than wrath? 



80 



WEEK 38. 

WEEK 38. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Samuel 27. My Flight. 

It is not always best for me to contend against 
my difficulties and troubles. Sometimes God's 
way is the way of flight. Sometimes it is best to 
go away from them altogether and forget them 
for a season. I shall return against them all the 
stronger, when God bids me return. 

Monday. Bead 1 Samuel 28. My Fate. 

It rises up from the earth, it rides upon the 
air, it breathes in every zephyr, it shouts in every 
thunderclap. There is no escaping God's de- 
cree. Soon or late, the doom will fall. My sin 
will find me out. There is only one escape, and 
that is first to find out Christ. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Sam. 29. My Partisanship. 

God will ever preserve me from blunders, if I 
am His. He will bring me up to the very point, 
perhaps, of some great calamity, such as David's 
fighting against his own, and then, in some un- 
expected way, He will save me from it. I need 
not fear, if my hand is in His, to march on through 
the most treacherous wilderness. Thy ways, O 
Father, are ever kind. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Sam. 30. My Victory. 

I will strengthen myself in the Lord my God. 
I will pursue my foes. I will not heed their power 
or my weakness. I will fall upon them, even in 
their hour of triumph. I will turn all my defeats 
into victory. For my God knows no defeat, nor 
need His children ever know defeat. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Samuel 81. My Gilboa. 

If I sin, and persist in sin, the Philistines will 
come upon me in force, and I also shall find my 
Gilboa. It may be when I have forgotten my 

81 



WEEK 38. 

sin, and think that God has forgotten ; but God 
does not forget. It may be when I think I am 
stronger than all the Philistines, but I am not at 
any time stronger than God. 

Friday. Bead 2 Samuel 1. My Dirge. 

I would mourn over the grave even of an 
enemy. If he died in his enmity, so all the more 
let me mourn. How are the mighty fallen! How 
are the lovely brought to the dust! Let me 
mourn for all sin, and for the wages of sin, which 
is death. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Sam. 2. My Need of Tact. 

Like David with the men of Jabesh-gilead, I 
may with a word turn an enemy into a friend. 
That is better than slaying him with a sword. 
I will learn of Thee, Thou Meek and Lowly, how 
kindness conquers men. Thy way is strongest, 
and needs most strength. Arm me with power 
for it, I pray. 



82 



WEEK 39. 

WEEK 39. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Samuel 3. My Honor. 

If those near me do wrong, my relatives, 
friends, or associates, it is not my wrong, or it is 
my wrong. It is not my wrong if I try to hinder 
it, if I protest against it and boldly deplore it. It 
is my wrong if I remain silent and quietly look 
on. Lord, quicken my conscience for my friend's 
sins as well as my own! 

Monday. Bead 2 Sam. 4- My False Friends. 

They are not friends to me who would aid my 
evil ambitions and not my good ones, nor those 
who would do evil that good may come to me. 
No one is my friend except along the way of 
righteousness. And I am friend to no man ex- 
cept as I do him good, and do others good in his 
name. O God, keep me from involving my friends 
in evil! 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Samuel 5. My Prosperity. 

When I perceive my affairs doing well, let me 
not fail to look deeper, and perceive that it is 
God doing well for me. When my enemies en- 
camp against me, let me not think to go out in 
my own strength, but let me await the sound of 
a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees. In 
joy or sorrow, in adversity or prosperity, Thou, 
O Lord, shalt be all in all. 

Wed. Bead 2 Samuel 6. My Presumption. 

Shall I lay hands upon the ark of the Lord, to 
steady it? Shall I instruct the Omniscient and 
aid the Omnipotent? Shall I fear for God's suc- 
cess and bewail His failures? Alas, for my ab- 
surd conceit! How merciful is God, that I am 
not smitten like Uzzah! 



83 



WEEK 39. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Sam. 7. My Plans for God. 

It is well for me t(W)lan large things to do for 
the Kingdom of God. Jehovah will be pleased 
with my desires, and will reward them, though 
He may not accept them. What He wants is not 
my deeds, but the will to do them. Let me hum- 
bly and gratefully submit to His ordering of my 
life. 

Friday. Bead 2 Samuel 8. My Victories. 

I am victorious, but I will not be exalted. I 
conquer my foes, but I will not let myself be con- 
quered by pride. No danger can assail me so 
great as pride. If I can know in my heart that 
it is the Lord alone that gives the victory, my 
victory will be safe for me. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Sam. 9. My Kindnesses,, 

Who has been kind to me? I must pass the 
kindness on. I am in debt for all the love be- 
stowed upon me, all the helpfulness of my friends. 
I am a bankrupt unless I help others. O God, 
for the spirit of love,— not of necessity, but of 
eager free will! 



84 



WEEK 40. 



WEEK 40. 



Sunday. Bead 2 Samuel 10. My Kindnesses. 
Shall I cease to be kind because others are un- 
kind? Shall I do no more good deeds because 
others misinterpret them? No! For my Father 
sends His rain upon the just and the unjust. 
Upon me, in my sins, He sends the sunshine of 
His grace. I shall not put it in the power of any 
man to make me a misanthrope. 

Monday. Bead 2 Samuel 11, My Sin. 

When I learn of the evil in any man, let me 
never boast myself, " This is not in me." Let 
me rather say, " In that mirror see yourself, O 
my heart! " There is no sin, anywhere, to which 
I am not akin. There is no man needing God's 
mercy, if I do not need it. 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Samuel 12. My "Woe. 

What is my punishment? Is it not, in what- 
ever penalty, the same as David's, that the Lord 
is become against me and not for me? That 
dear ones are sick of my sin, that dear ones die 
of my sin, that the sword enters my own soul, all 
this is only the exterior of my woe ; its heart is 
this, that God is against me. 

Wed. Bead 2 Sam. 13* My Present Moment. 

There is a life in the present that slays the 
future, and there is a life that enriches and vivi- 
fies it. There is a pleasure that ends in satiety 
and death, a love that ends in hatred; and there 
is a pleasure that is fruitful of living joy, and a 
love that is stronger than death. Which shall 
be mine? 

Thurs. Bead 2 Sam. 14. My Reconciliation. 

I must not show to others a sternness I would 

not have God show to me. Are they sinners? 

85 



WEEK 40. 

So am I. Have they persisted in sin? So do I. 
Are they slow to repent? How like me! Ab- 
salom had sinned. Ah, hut so had David! 

Friday. Read 2 Samuel 15. My Ambition. 

What harm has come to my soul, except through 
greed and selfishness? Is there not room on the 
earth for all men with me? Is there not work 
for all, and wealth and honor for all? Let me 
receive with gratitude the lot the Lord allows 
me, and let me not look at the fortune of others 
except to increase it for them. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Sam. 16. My Dark Days. 
I may not think to sit upon a throne all my 
days, and to dwell in a palace. I have provided 
an exile for myself. Out of my own life has 
sprung my punishment. There is no need for 
God to undo me, when I am so busy with undo- 
ing myself. Alas for David, and for us all! Why 
do we not let God guide us? 



WEEK 41. 

WEEK 41. 

* 

Sunday. Read 2 Samuel 17. My Counsellors. 

I have two counsellors. One of them advises 
wisely, and one foolishly. One of them counsels 
according to my carnal nature, and the other 
according to my spiritual nature. One of them 
would have me seek pomp and show in the eyes 
of men; the other would have me seek the real- 
ity, the substance. To which shall I listen, to 
Hushai or Ahithophel? 

Monday. Read 2 Samuel 18. My Self-seeking. 
May I ride my selfishness under an oak, and 
may it be caught by the head and swung up to 
heaven! May it be thrust through the heart till 
it is dead! For if I do not slay my selfishness, 
it will surely slay me. 

Tuesday. Read 2 Samuel 19. My Friends. 

Some day I shall come to my own. Some day 
the Lord will cause me to triumph over my 
enemies. Some day I shall reign in my palace. 
Let .me not reign there alone. Let me prepare 
for myself now a goodly host of friends, who will 
rejoice with me in that glad day. 

Wednesday. Read 2 Samuel 20. My Loyalty. 

Whether my friend is friendly or not, I will be 
a friend to him. Though he reject me, I will not 
reject him. Though he put another in my place, 
I will set no one else in his place. If he is my 
David, he shall be my David forever, though he 
prefer Amasa before me. 

Thursday. Read 2 Samuel 21. My Famine. 

How often the days of hunger come, the days 
of fainting and fear, the days when God is far 
away, and joy is far away, and the very memory 
of happiness is no more! In those days let me 

87 



WEEK 41. 

not be ignorant of the reason. The cause is my 
sin. The remedy is my repentance, and the 
fruits of repentance that I may bring forth. 
There is no other. 

Friday. Bead 2 Samuel 22. My Rock. 

When I seek other upholding than Thine, O 
God, let me fall to the earth! When I would be 
protected except with Thee, let the arrows find 
me! To rely on any other safety than Thy favor 
is to lean on a bubble. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Sam. 23. My Mighty Men. 

I cannot fight my battles alone. If 1 try, they 
will become defeats. Where are my strong help- 
ers? Where are my mighty men? Where are 
my friends? I would be wise, and surround me 
with a cordon of them, for my enemies are many, 
and my wars are difficult. 



88 



WEEK 42. 

WEEK 42. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Samuel 24. My Payment. 

I will not, even as David did not, offer sacri- 
fices that cost me nothing. They would not then 
be sacrifices. My gifts to the Lord shall cost me 
money, and time, and thought, and strength. 
Yes, they may cost me health, and ease, and 
popularity, and other good tilings; for they are 
to obtain the highest good. 

Monday. Bead 1 Kings 1. My Enterprise. 

It would have been so easy for Solomon's suc- 
cession to go by default! It is so easy for any 
good thing to go by default! The friends of the 
good must be ever alert to push that cause, as 
the friends of the evil are ever ready to further 
the ends of evil. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Kings 2. My Retribution. 

All my wrongdoing shall return upon my own 
head. Not the barrier of many years shall shut 
it out. Not the gulf of long forgetfulness shall 
separate it from me. Punishment can bridge 
any gulf. Punishment can overleap any barrier. 
There is only one safety against it, and that is 
Thy bosom, O my Father! 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Kings 8. My Choice. 

The Lord has given me Solomon's choice; may 
I choose as wisely as he! Above wealth or fame 
or long life or any other good, may I choose the 
wisdom that is from above and that alone can go 
with me above ! For with it shall come to me all 
other good things that could come to me in any 
wise. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Kings 4. My Fame. 

If I would win fame— and who would not?— let 
me know that the only way to win it and keep it 



WEEK 42. 

is Solomon's,— to be wise. For what men want, 
after all, is wisdom ; and whoever can give them 
that, may have their honor. Nay, they cannot 
long withhold it. 

Fri. Bead 1 Kings 5. My Inherited Tasks. 
There are many things the fathers could not 
do. The years were too short, or their strength 
failed, or the time was not ripe. These things, 
many of them, are my inheritance. They are 
better than an inheritance of wealth, or an earl- 
dom. They are a patent of true nobility, if I 
only lay hold upon them. 

Saturday. Bead 1 Kings 6. My Temple. 
I, even I also, will build a temple for God. It 
is my body, for He has said it. If it is pure and 
strong, if it shines in the beauty of holiness, then 
He will be as well pleased with this temple of 
mine as with Solomon's. 



90 



WEEK 43. 

WEEK 43. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Kings 7. My Temple. 

Let me think of God's house as my house. 
What I would lavish upon my own house, of 
strength and riches and beauty, that let me re- 
joice to lavish upon the house of the Lord. No 
workmanship is too fine for it, no cost too great, 
no time too long. It shall be my pride. It shall 
be counted worth my whole life if I can add but 
one hewn stone to the house of the Lord. 

Monday. Bead 1 Kings 8. My Prayers. 

I pray many things. My life is one long prayer 
of many petitions. Every desire is a prayer. 
Every hope is a prayer. Every ambition is a 
prayer. And now I wish to centre my prayers 
upon God's house. I wish to build them up about 
God's Kingdom. I wish to remove their centre 
from myself and fix it upon Thee, my God and my 
King! 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Kings 9. My Covenant. 

God gives me no promise without a condition. 
He can give nothing without conditions. He will 
serve me, hut only if I serve Him. He will en- 
rich me, but only if I will use the riches in the 
best way. He will make me happy, but only if I 
am good. He will establish my throne forever, 
but only if I hold my sceptre in obedience to Him. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Kings 10. My Search. 
There is one errand upou which it especially 
profits me to go, and that is the pursuit of wis- 
dom. There is one prize best worth gaining of 
all prizes, and that is the prize of wisdom. There 
is one reward which is the crown of crowns, and 
that is to be wise. The Queen of Sheba was wise 
indeed before she started on her quest, and that 
was why she started. 

91 



WEEK 43. 

Thursday. Read 1 Kings 11. My Peril. 
Solomon's enemy was not outside himself. Yes, 
though Hadad and Kezon and Jeroboam all 
should league themselves against him, Solomon's 
enemy was within his own breast. It was an 
enemy that alienated God, and no other enemy 
could do that. And failing to do that, no other 
enemy could make headway against him. 

Friday. Read 1 Kings 12. My Choice. 
I have two sets of councilors. Every one has 
two sets of councilors. I am counselled for God. 
I am counselled for Satan. I am advised for 
pride and for humility. I am urged toward pros- 
perity and destruction. My life is saved or it is 
lost, according as I take the right counsel. Lord, 
direct my steps, that I wander not away from Thy 
commandments! 

Saturday. Read 1 Kings 13. My Obedience. 
I have obeyed God in this matter ; may I there- 
fore disobey Him in another matter? How easy 
it is to do God's will when I will it myself ! how 
hard, when I do not will it! There is no safety 
for me in doing God's will unless I do it all; and 
I shall not do it all unless my will is God's wilL 
There is therefore no safety for me, O God, until 
my will is Thine. 



92 



WEEK 44. 

WEEK 44. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Kings 14. My Disguises. 
Like Jeroboam with his messenger, I try to 
disguise myself, and cheat the Lord. As if He 
who spells the stars, and pierces to the centre of 
the earth, cannot discern my soul, and compre- 
hend my shallow concealments. I am naked he- 
fore His eye,— my secret thoughts, my most hid- 
den deeds, are to Him as if spread in the light of 
the market-place. O Lord, when Thou seest, for- 
give! 

Monday. Bead 1 Kings 15. My Good and Bad. 

The high places were not removed, " neverthe- 
less" Asa's heart was perfect. He was wise, 
"but" he made that foolish alliance with Syria. 
He was prosperous, " nevertheless " he was dis- 
eased in his feet. What a tissue of good and bad 
is all life, is my life ! Help me, my Father, to get 
rid of the bad, and make my life from end to end 
just what Thou canst approve. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Kings 16. My Jezebels. 
I may fill my heart with Jezebels, though I 
keep Jezebel out of my house. Lustful thoughts 
are Jezebels, malice, passion, pride, are Jezebels. 
So are falsehood, and envy, and hypocrisy. 
Heaven preserve me from the fatal brood ! 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Kings 17. My Cruse of Oil. 

The oil of gladness need never fail me, but God 
will renew my happiness day by day, my cup run- 
ning over! What care I how it is done, with 
what gifts from God's bounty? I know He is my 
loving Father, more eager to give than I to re- 
ceive. I know that there is no limit of His benefi- 
cence, and why should I fear? 

Thursday. Bead 1 Kings 18. My Carmel. 

I also, like Elijah, am confronted by priests of 

Baal. They swarm around me by the thousand, 

93 



WEEK 44. 

devotees of the gods of this world. What shall I 
do but what Elijah did,— rear my altar, lay upon 
it my sacrifice, and pray to my God? The fire 
will fall upon my offering, the sword will fall upon 
my enemies, the floods of blessing will fall from 
heaven! And every day I must ascend my Car- 
mel. 

Fri. Bead 1 Kings 19. My Revelation of God. 
It may be in the whirlwind and the fire. It may 
be in the cake and the water cruse. It may be 
in the open desert. It may be in the cave. Wher- 
ever it is, and however it is, that Jehovah speaks 
to me, it will be with the still, small voice. And 
I shall know that the great things are the most 
gentle, and that the eternal things come most 
near. 

Saturday. Bead 1 Kings 20. My Forbearance. 
What God would have me devote to slaughter, 
against it may my sword be hot! Let not my 
anger cool nor my zeal grow slack. Let me 
make no parley. Let me hasten after it, and take 
no rest. Whatsoever the Lord hates will I hate, 
and there shall be no peace between me and it 
forever. 



94 



WEEK 45. 

WEEK 45. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Kings 21. My Covetousness. 

Naboth's vineyards ail around me! Ahab's 
spirit ever in me! How can I drive it out? 
Shall I condemn myself to a life as barren as 
Elijah's? At any rate, I must mortify the flesh, 
and I must teach my soul to desire only the best 
gifts. For vineyards —for dirt and leaves and 
sweetened water— I must not sell my soul. 

Monday. Bead 1 Kings 22. My Truth-telling-. 
Though a king confront me, let me learn to look 
him in the eye, and speak in honesty. Be my 
words such as God would seal. They shall out- 
last granite. They shall march with the ages. 
They shall live with all eternal verities. 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Kings 1, My Dalliance. 
Do I dally with the gods of this world? Do I 
wish to make friends of them and at the same 
time hold to Jehovah? Let me know Jehovah as 
a jealous God! Let me fear His lightning stroke. 
Let me count any converse with evil as worse 
than death. 

Wednesday. Bead 2 Kings 2. My Succession. 
Some one of the Lord's prophets is ascending, 
and the Lord calls upon me to take up his mantle 
and fill his place. A humble place or a large one, 
it will be too large for me. I shall be Elisha to 
his Elijah. What of that? I shall be prophet of 
the same God. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Kings 8. My Vision. 
What to one man is pure, clear water, to an- 
other is red blood, a treacherous snare. How do 
my eyes look upon this world? Do they see 
clearly, oris their vision full of scarlet passion? 
May the Lord grant me eyesight crystal-pure, to 
see His earth and His heaven I 

95 



WEEK 45. 

Friday. Read 2 Kings 4- My Oil Jars. 

I shall bring them forth, receptacles of bless- 
ing, from all corners of my house, till there is no 
more! I shall go to my neighbors and gather 
them, and to the shop and buy them, till I have 
brought together as many as possible. For God's 
goodness is unstinted. Only let my faith be un- 
stinted. 

Saturday. Read 2 Kings 5. My Jordan. 

It is the river of Christ's blood in which my soul 
must bathe. I have scorned it. I have sought 
the sparkling Abana and Pharpar of the world. 
But also I have tried it, and in it my leprosy has 
melted into health. Oh, the heavenly Jordan! 
Oh, the rewards of trust and obedience! 



96 



WEEK 46. 

WEEK 46. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Kings 6. My Allies. 

Lord, open my eyes, that I may see the angelic 
host, Thy ministers of defence around me ! Why 
do I go through the world fearful and troubled? 
Surely, though no one seems on my side, they 
that are with me are more than they that are 
against me. I will trust, and not be afraid. 

Monday. Bead 2 Kings 7. My Discoveries. 

I have looked, and I have seen that the ene- 
mies are no enemies. I have perceived that the 
Lord is mightier than them all. I have gathered 
rich spoil of faith and hope and glad fruition. 
Shall I be worse than a leper? Shall I not tell all 
men what I have found? 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Kings 8. My Ambitions. 

It is right for me to be ambitious ; it was right 
for Hazael ; only, let all my ambitions be such as 
God and His saints can look upon with delight. 
My eyes must not fall before the searchings of 
any man, or surely they will fall before the 
searchings of the All-seeing eye. 

Wed. Bead 2 Kings 9. My Retribution. 
Blood for blood, shame for shame, blackness 
for blackness! Sin and penalty are close as fire 
and light, weight and pressure, heat and con- 
sumption. Surely my sin shall find me out, and, 
finding me out, destroy me. There is only one 
safety ; but, praise God, there is one. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Kings 10. My Reform. 
Root and branch, to the farthest rootlet, to the 
least twig, digging up and overturning and burn- 
ing,— such be my attack upon sin! There shall 
be no remainder. There shall be no lurking 
place of evil. There shall be no new brood. 

97 



WEEK 46. 

An utter destruction of iniquity,— grant it, 
God!— that there may be a perfect reign of the 
good. 

Friday. Bead 2 Kings 11. My Covenant. 

I need no Jehoiada to make a covenant for me 
that I will be the Lord's. I have been my own 
Jehoiada; I have made the covenant; now how 
am I keeping it? The Lord is mine, without re- 
serve, all His wondrous self going out to me, for 
me. How much of my life is His? How much 
is basely and foolishly withheld from Him? 

Saturday. Read 2 Kings 12, My Church. 

Does my house of God need repairs? Are its 
walls dingy, its floors dirty, its cloths ragged, its 
windows broken? This house of God given me 
to tend, do I really regard it as a house of God? 
Do I cherish it as His house? It is for others 
also to care for it; yes, but it is also for me. 



WEEK 47. 

WEEK 47. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Kings 13. My Arrows. 

"Whatever I do for the Lord of Hosts must be 
done with all my might. Who am I, to be linked 
with His vast enterprises? It is an honor too 
great for me. And if I am lax and languid, if I 
am less than my best, I am false to the chief op- 
portunity of my life. 

Monday. Bead 2 Kings 14- My Own Sin. 
I inherit much evil, through thousands of an- 
cestors, generation back of generation, nation 
preceding nation, century on top of century. 
Some of my sins are theirs ; but for them I shall 
not lose my soul. Alas, I have sins enough 
that are all my own! Alas, I have increased the 
fearful burden, under which the centuries groan! 
Lord, whom can we trust, they and I, except the 
Saviour of men? 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Kings 15. My Imitation. 
How often my life imitates the evil in others, 
when it might just as well imitate the good in 
them, even as the kings of Israel followed after 
the sins of Jeroboam, rather than his energy and 
sagacity! It is well to draw from the lives of 
others; no man liveth to himself ; only, let me 
draw life and not death. 

Wed. Bead 2 Kings 16. My Spoliation. 
I would not do as Aliaz did ; I would not 
despoil the Lord's house, and scatter its gold 
among its enemies. Ah, but do I not despoil it 
when I withhold its dues? Is it not the poorer 
by me? May not the Lord justly take my goods 
from me and give them to a more honest steward? 

Thursday. Bead 2 Kings 17. My Captivity. 

How speedily do my sins send me into exile! 

Away from all joys, out of all peace, into loneli- 



l. of 



\*. 



WEEK 47. 

ness and fear, into remorse and dishonor,— a cap- 
tivity far worse than the Babylonian! Open the 
doors of my prison house, my Saviour, and bid 
me come forth. And keep me so close to Thee 
that I shall henceforth dwell in Thy Holy Land. 

Friday. Bead 2 Kings 18. My Debate. 

The worldlings come up against me. They boast 
and threaten and sneer. Their words are large 
and lofty. Their claims and promises are allur- 
ing. But they are only words, empty air. One 
whisper of my Lord is worth them all. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Kings 19. My Deliverance. 

I have called upon my God, and He has heard 
me. His hearing has been answering. His an- 
swering has been rescue. His words were deeds, 
His syllables were blessings. How mighty is this 
light-breathed instrument of prayer, since it can 
summon almightiness to my aid! 



100 



WEEK 48. 

WEEK 48. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Kings 20. My Recovery. 

If I am sick, and pray to God, or if some holy 
man prays forme, shall I recover ? I know not. 
In one sense, I care not. If I recover, the added 
years will be beautiful, for they will be God's gift. 
If I do not recover, the added eternity will be 
God's gift also; and ah, but it will be beautiful ! 

Monday. Bead 2 Kings 21. My Influence. 

As I walk, so others will walk. I need not be a 
Manasseh, to draw an entire kingdom after me, 
and my own child. I need only be my ordinary, 
humble self to draw a kingdom after me,— my 
kingdom, as important to me, however small, as 
his to him. Lord, help me to live as for other 
lives ! 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Kings 22. My Bible. 

Is it hidden in some rubbish heap, forgotten 
and mildewed ? Though it lies in a conspicuous 
place, is it nevertheless virtually hidden, its cov- 
ers being never opened ? Yet this is to millions 
the bread of life, the fountain of life. How little 
I use of the power and peace that are right at 
hand ! 

"Wednesday. Bead 2 Kings 23. My Reforms. 

When I see a wrong, shall I shut my eyes to it, 
or turn my back to it, or leave it to others to cor- 
rect ? It is not their wrong, but mine, since I 
saw it ! Seeing it is a mandate. Feeling its in- 
iquity is a commission. God has sent me against 
it, with His authority. Shall I not be true to my 
trust ? 

Thursday. Bead 2 Kings 24. My Penalty. 

There is no cheating the divine retribution. 
There is no hiding from it or parleying with it. 
Sure-footed and swift it approaches, steadily and 

101 



WEEK 48. 

inevitably. I may push back the planets in their 
orbits or wrench the sun from its place sooner 
than disturb its majestic course. If I am subject 
to it, I may not hope to escape it. 

Friday. Read 2 Kings 25. My Doom. 

Shall my eyes be blinded, like those of Zede- 
kiah? Shall love and peace and joy be slain be- 
fore my eyes? Not unless my eyes were blinded 
already to the good and eagerly open to the evil. 
Not unless I had already spurned love and peace 
and joy, and stabbed them in my soul. Jehovah 
executes the doom, but I myself have chosen it. 

Sat. Read 1 Chron. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. My Help. 

Me also shall God help, as He aided His people 
of old (chapter 5: 20). For I put my trust in God. 
I have no confidence in myself. I know that I am 
powerless ; I know that He is almighty. I have 
proved my weakness. I have proved His strength. 
This knowledge and faith are my only strength. 
Indeed, what more do I need? 



102 



WEEK 49. 

WEEK 49. 

Sun. Bead 1 Chron., chaps. 6, 7, 8, 9. My Task. 

To me, as to each of the Levites, is my " set 
office " (chapter 9). To me there is some little 
apportionment of the Lord's work, something 
that will not be done unless I do it-, or, if done, 
it will be done at the expense of some one's 
over-work. I will have pride in my task. I will 
rejoice in my task. And, with God's help, I will 
be faithful to it. 

Monday. Bead 1 Chron. 10. My Punishment. 

" So Saul died for his transgression." Of course 
he did. Every one dies for his transgression. 
Sin is death, and death at once. What matters 
the death of the body? What avails to drag 
around, in a living body, a dead soul? 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Chron. 11. My Friendships. 
How sacred is it, all that my dear ones are 
doing for me! How precious is their self-sacri- 
fice! How beautiful is their thoughtfulness! 
What a crown, passing an emperor's, is the honor 
they pay me! I will pour it all out, as David did, 
for a libation to the Lord. It is too holy a thing to 
be used in any way selfishly. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Chron. 12. My Helpers. 
Little of my victories are my own, and little of 
my work is done by me. I have innumerable 
helpers. I cannot live alone or labor alone or 
fight alone in any battle. God has buttressed me 
round about with comrade toilers. They may 
not be called my comrades, but they are. And I 
will praise God for them day by day. 

Thurs. Bead 1 Chron. 13. My Forwardness. 

I to advise the All-wise! I to aid the Almighty! 
Xto criticise the All-loving! I, a worm, an atom! 

103 



WEEK 49. 

And yet this inconceivable folly has been mine, 
as it was Uzza's; and not once only, but many 
times. How can I hope for pardon? And yet the 
Lord is All-merciful. 

Friday. Bead 1 Chron. 14- My Victories. 

Before I go up to battle, let me inquire always 
of the Lord. To whatever battle, against many 
or against few. In whatever place, when the ad- 
vantage is with me, or against me. For I know 
not the issue, but God knows. And my victory, 
in any event, is in obedience to God. 

Saturday. Bead 1 Chronicles 15. My Joy. 

Over what do I rejoice? Is my singing, is my 
dancing, is my laughter, for the ark, for the 
church, for the Kingdom of God? or is it for the 
bank, for the finery, for the hand-clap? Let me 
know myself, even as God knows me, by the 
things that make me happy. 



104 



WEEK 50. 

WEEK 50. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Chron. 16. My Rejoicing. 

David shows me in what I should rejoice. I 
should glory in the Lord. My thanksgiving 
should be for His kindness, my praise for His 
perfections, my prayer for His triumphs. As I 
lose myself in Him, then for the first time do I 
truly find myself. 

Monday. Bead 1 Chron. 17. My Ambition. 

It is when I seek to build a house for the Lord 
that He is enabled to build my house. When, in 
humble sincerity, I would exalt Him, His reply is 
to exalt me. Is any praise equal to His goodness ? 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Chronicles 18. My Spoil. 

What I gain from my wars, let me, like David, 
dedicate to the Lord. It is He that quickened 
my mind to win victories in the realm of learning. 
It is He that strengthened my soul to overcome 
temptation. It is He that has turned my rout 
into a triumph on many a difficult field. His 
alone is the power, and His shall be the glory, 
forever. 

Wed. Bead 1 Chron. 19. My Good Intentions. 

When I am misunderstood, when my purposes 
are misjudged, when men suspect me wrongfully 
and make my good evil, what shall I do? Let me 
follow the example of Him who, when He was re- 
viled, reviled not again. Let me do good, seek- 
ing for nothing in return. Let my reward be 
from God, and not from men. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Chron. 20. My Giants. 

They oppose me everywhere, horrible ene- 
mies, looming gigantic and frightful. They 
menace me with their hands,— dire temptations, 
manifest dangers, losses and failures, ridicule 

105 



WEEK 50. 

and opposition, a thousand uglinesses and 
perils. But I will do battle in the name of 
David's God. I will not fear them, or many more 
like them. For Jehovah is greater than all be- 
sides. 

Friday. Read 1 Chron. 21. My Census. 

Forbid, O God, that I should repeat the sin of 
David, that I should number my goods and my 
powers, that I should vaunt myself great and 
nourish myself before Thee! Lead me to know 
the beauty of lowliness. Humble me, O God, 
and teach me to humble myself. 

Saturday. Read 1 Chron. 22. My Preparation. 

The work that I cannot do, let me make it 
easier for others to do. What I cannot complete 
or even begin, let me store up the materials for 
it. Let me do what I can, however little; for in 
doing that I shall have done a great thing. 



106 



WEEK 51. 

WEEK 51. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Chronicles 23. My Charge. 
In the great division of work in God's kingdom 
I have a part. I am assigned to some company 
of laborers; have I joined the company? Some 
particular phase of the work has been laid aside 
for me; are my hands empty of it? A time is 
doming when I shall see that all my happiness, 
for all eternity, depends on my being where 
God wants me, doing the thing God wants me to 
do. 

Monday. Bead 1 Chronicles 24. My Lot. 

They cast lots, in the tabernacle work, to de- 
termine the companies of workers. Much in 
my work in the world seems likewise to be an 
affair of chance. But nothing essential is an af- 
fair of chance, or was in David's time. God's 
ordering of my life is not haphazard, though my 
own ordering is, when I take my life out of 
God's hands. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Chronicles 25. My Songs. 

There are skilled singers and skilled players on 
instruments, but I must not allow even these to 
make all the music in God's world. Though my 
voice is harsh, God listens for it also, Though 
my fingers are clumsy, God has a harp for them 
also. Let everything that hath breath praise the 
Lord! 

Wed. Bead 1 Chron. 26. My Door-Keeping. 

No work is menial, done for Jehovah! I am 
unworthy of the least task, unfit to perform the 
smallest service. It is of God's high grace that I 
am admitted at all to the number of His servants, 
and surely I shall not quarrel with the assign- 
ment He gives me. 

107 



WEEK 51. 

Thursday. Bead 1 Chron. 27. My Commission. 

Over what am I set, in the Lord's work? Over 
the treasuries, or the vineyards? Over the olive- 
trees, or the oil-cellars? Over the sheep, or the 
camels? Whatever it is, I should know it. And 
whatever it is, let me so manage my stewardship 
that my Lord's face will light up, when he comes 
to review my work. 

Friday. Bead 1 Chronicles 28. My Pattern. 

Great and wise men, going before me, have not 
been able to complete their designs; sometimes 
they have not even been able to begin upon them. 
To me, as to Solomon, some of these designs are 
entrusted. It is a splendid trust, and I am un- 
equal to it, but Thou, O my Helper, art equal to it 
all. 

Sat. Bead 1 Chron. 29. My Willingness. 

How ashamed I am when I think of my re- 
luctant gifts, my unwilling service! That I 
should accept with grudging this high privilege, 
and give with frowns what I should lavish with 
exultation! Henceforth my giving and my work- 
ing shall be with a song and a shout, and I shall 
begin to live. 



108 



WEEK 52. 

WEEK 52. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Chronicles 1. My Wealth. 

Though I come to have the riches of a Solomon, 
and all of Solomon's magnificence, I must reckon, 
as he reckoned, that the chief riches is wisdom. 
And if I continue without riches, yet the wisdom 
of God may dwell in my heart. I must he happy 
and contented, knowing that within my reach is 
the greatest of all possessions. Help me to this 
wisdom, O Thou God of Solomon! 

Monday. Bead 2 Chronicles 2. My Helpers. 

Not even Solomon could do without Hiram; 
how then can I hope, alone, to rear any temple 
for the Lord? I shall call my assistants from far 
and near. I shall levy upon all that will con- 
tribute. Let me have no pride of originality. 
Let me never think to he the sole builder. It is 
that the temple may be built, not that I may be 
praised! 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Chron. 3. My Lavishing. 

Where is my gold? Where are my rich cloths, 
my gems, the valuable goods of my life? If not 
in precious metal or other material, then the 
jewels of the mind, the gold of character, where 
are they? Am I building them into Thy house, 

my God? 

Wed. Bead 2 Chron. 4- My Lesser Tasks. 

The great purpose of my life, my temple, in- 
volves many lesser purposes, the altar, the 
lavers, the tables, the brass upon the doors. Am 

1 forgetting the littles that make up the large? 
Am I rearing the walls and neglecting what is to 
give them significance when they are reared? 
Forbid this, O Lord! 

109 



WEEK 52. 

Thursday Bead 2 Chronicles 5. My Ark. 

Somewhere in my life, if it is to be a life worth 
living, there must be a Most Holy Place, a place 
of the Shekinah, a place where Jehovah dwells 
continually. Thither I shall bend my soul, from 
the midst of whatever cares or toil or sorrow. 
And there, whenever my longing spirit finds op- 
portunity, I shall meet my Father. 

Friday. Bead 2 Chron. 6. My Dedication. 

Here is my life, with all its contents. Have I 
ever knelt down, my hands outspread toward 
heaven, and truly given it all to the God of 
heaven and earth? If not, let me not delay an 
instant longer. For it is His, all His, and I am 
His, and He shall be mine, forever. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Chron. 7. My Alternative. 

My alternative is the same as Solomon's, the 
same as the Jews'. I may honor God,— and be at 
peace ; I may honor other gods,— and be an out- 
cast. I cheat myself so often by fancying a mid- 
way course ; but there is no intermediary, there 
is no third possibility. And which am I really 
choosing for my life? 



110 



WEEK 53. 

WEEK 53. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Chronicles 8. My Sway. 

Solomon's was a lordly rule over a lordly king- 
dom ; but have I not a kingdom as fine, and may 
I not rule it more nobly? For, after all, the only 
kingdom where a man may really rule is his own 
spirit. 

Monday. Bead 2 Chron. 9. My Admirations. 
Which is more to he applauded, the Queen of 
Sheba, who made the long journey seeking wis- 
dom, or Solomon, who had it as a gift from God? 
Certainly the queen at least no less than the 
king. Let me not forget that, though great 
ability may not be mine, to admire the noble ac- 
quirements of others, and to seek the company 
of the wise in hooks, maybe mine, and will be as 
honorable. 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Chron. 10. My Arrogance. 
I can have no richer wealth than humility. My 
enemies can lay no snare for me more dangerous 
than my pride. Who am I, that I should vaunt 
myself? What shall I become, if I do vaunt my- 
self? A second Rehoboam, the mockery of men! 

Wednesday. Bead 2 Chron. 11. My Strength. 
As the priests flocked to Juclah and strength- 
ened the nation, so let my life become a rendez- 
vous for all holy thoughts and purposes. As 
they are driven from other places, let them find 
in my heart a ready haven. In those let me see 
my strength, and not in men, or might, or money. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Chron. 12. My Service. 
How shall I know the blessedness of serving 
God? By serving God! Not by forgetting God, 
and falling into the hands of the enemy, and 
learning the hardnesses of his service, and then 
coming back, with late and repentant rejoicings, 

111 



WEEK 53. 

to the happy service of God. But by serving 
God— now ! 

Friday. Read 2 Chronicles 13. My Reliance. 
How prone I am to trust in my own hands and 
my own brain! And then I find myself in am- 
bush, the enemy behind me and in front, and 
there is no deliverance in man. Then I cry to 
the Lord in my trouble, and He delivers me out 
of all my distresses. Praise the Lord forever. 
Trust the Lord forever and aye. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Chron. 14- My Rescue. 
They are many, O Lord, that rise up against 
me; but Thou, though One, art more than they. 
Their hosts are strong, Out Thou canst wither 
them with a breath. They flame with hatred, 
but Thou dost glow with love. I will trust, and 
not be afraid. I will trust Thee, and not be 
afraid. 



112 



WEEK 54. 

WEEK 54. 

Sun. Read 2 Chron. 15. My Encouragement. 

Where is my Azariah, to meet me with exhorta- 
tions, to bid me seek the Lord and He will be 
found of me? Rather, where is not my Azariah? 
Where do I not hear myself thus urged? By the 
memories of the past and the experiences of the 
present. By the gracious influences of nature with- 
out and the sacred voice within. By the Book. 
By the Church. By friends. By the volumes of 
the sages. Ah, my Azariahs abound! 

Monday. Read 2 Chron. 16. My Alliances. 

Upon whom or what do I rely? "Where is my 
arm of strength? Is it in men? in philosophy? 
in money? or is it the arm of the Lord? In the 
answer— the honest answer— to that question lies 
my sure horoscope. 

Tuesday. Read 2 Chron. 17. My Prosperity. 

As Jehoshaphat found it, as all the Jehosha- 
phats have found it in all ages, so do I find it to- 
day: there is no prosperity without the Lord. 
There is sham prosperity enough, but there is no 
prosperity. And yet how much of my time and 
strength I waste in seeking prosperity rather 
than the Lord ! 

Wednesday. Read 2 Chron. 18. My Advisers. 

Do I seek smooth counsel, or true counsel? 
Will I be pleased, as with honey or fair fruit, 
when I ask for guidance? Is it to amuse me, or is 
it to direct me? I must forsake such folly. I must 
value above all other blessings the true friend, 
whose words are frank, and for my good; who 
speaks the thing as it is. 

Thursday. Read 2 Chron. 19. My Errors. 

I shall make mistakes ; only let me seek ever 
to avoid them. I shall sin ; only let me strive 

113 



WEEK 54. 

against sin with all my might. I shall fall under 
temptation ; only let me never set my heart upon 
it, but let me set my heart to seek my God. Then 
will He— not I— conquer temptation and sin, and 
keep me upright forever. 

Friday. Read 2 Chron. 20. My Fighting. 

I need not fight my battles. I have only to 
stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. 
I have only to give thanks for the victory in my 
valley of Beracah. For the Lord God Omnipo- 
tent is on my side. 

Saturday. Read 2 Chron. 21. My Warning. 

To me also comes a writing from Elijah the 
prophet; yea, from many Elijahs, many prophets. 
And the words of all the writings are the same, 
and the voice of the past is one word, and that 
great word is " Obey! " 



114 



' WEEK 55. 

WEEK 55. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Chronicles 22. My Hiding. 

When I am powerless, God is my power. When 
I am defenceless, He is my hiding-place. Happy 
is such weakness, thus to be guarded! When I 
am weak, then indeed am I strong. 

Monday. Bead 2 Chron. 23. My Coronation. 

There comes a time when action must take the 
place of rest, and openness of concealment, and 
boldness of trembling. At the call of the Lord, I 
must take up my crown, and wear it courageously. 
Though dangers attend it, I must wear it the 
more proudly, and gladly. 

Tues. Bead 2 Chron, 24. My Restorations. 

If the Lord's house is in ruins, it is as if my own 
were. If the church is not prosperous, my af- 
fairs are not prosperous. If the kingdom of God 
is endangered, my own throne totters. I will 
identify myself with the interests of Jehovah. 
I will not count anything a blessing apart from 
Him and His. 

Wednesday. Bead 2 Chron. 25. My Fidelity. 

How many times has Jehovah saved me, as 
wonderfully as He saved Amaziah; and fought 
my battles, as He fought his! Yet I have turned 
to the gods that could not save their own follow- 
ers, the gods of the world, the betrayers of world- 
lings. Let me seek them no longer— money, 
fame, power, ease ; let me seek only the God that 
has blessed me. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Chronicles 26. My Pride. 

It is indeed a leprosy, this pride and self-will 
of mine. It eats into my life. It turns my great- 
est joys to rottenness. And no touch can heal it 
save the touch of the Lowly One. 

115 



WEEK 55. 

Friday. Bead 2 Chronicles 27. My Might. 

So shall I become mighty— O just and wise say- 
ing!— if I also, like Jotham, "order my ways 
before the Lord my God." In that ordering there 
is peace. Along those ways are ranged all bless- 
edness. And as I walk therein, every foe falls 
back before me. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Chronicles 28. My Help. 

Frantic, I turn here and there. I seek many 
allies. I beseech many altars. I know not where 
to find assistance. My enemies are many, and 
strong. Ah, have I not known One who is 
stronger than they? Why do I so easily forget? 



116 



WEEK 56. 

WEEK 56. 

Sunday. Read 2 Chron. 29. My Cleansing. 
Is not my heart a temple of the Lord? By 
whom shall He be worshipped, if not by me, and 
others like me? And shall I allow this His tem- 
ple to be defiled? Let me become to-day a Heze- 
kiah. Sweep it out! Sweep it out! Whatever 
denies my inner purity, sweep it out! 

Monday. Read 2 Chron. 30. My Passover. 
If by reason of carelessness or any other sin I 
have failed in any duty or fallen short of any 
privilege, if the set time of my Passover has gone 
by irretrievably, yet I will not abandon the duty 
or forego the privilege. Let it be a month late, if 
it must be ; but it shall be observed, nevertheless! 

Tuesday. Read 2 Chron. 31. My Oblations. 
What of all my possessions do I possess? 
What have I that is not the Lord's? His be- 
cause He made it. His because He gave it to 
me. * His because He gives me moment by 
moment the power to use it and enjoy it. And to 
think that I should hesitate to render back a por- 
tion for His work! 

Wed. Read 2 Chron. 32. My Deliverance. 
My trust shall be in the Lord ; but I will pre- 
pare myself against my adversaries. My de- 
liverance is to come from the Lord; but I will 
stop up the springs and strengthen the walls 
against them. The Lord will send His angel, to 
save me; but He will send him only to a pre- 
pared city. 

Thurs. Read 2 Chron. 33. My Kepentance. 
I have been in chains and fetters. I have been 
carried into exile. My crown has been taken 
from me. All this has been done, not by the 
Lord, but by myself, by my sins. And at my 

117 



WEEK 56. 

side, all the time, the Lord has stood, sorrowful 
and pitying! Oh, I will arise and go to my 
Father! 

Friday. Read 2 Chronicles 34. My Bible. 
Sometimes, when I read the holy words, they 
come upon me with so full and overpowering 
majesty that I rend the garments of my soul, and 
how myself in the dust before Jehovah. So let 
me read the Word at all times, with my heart at- 
tentive and expectant, and with my spirit 
wrapped in reverence. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Chron. 85. My Meddling. 
It is hard to keep my fingers from the loom of 
divine destiny! They will be changing the pat- 
tern. They will be rearranging the threads. 
They will be correcting the machinery. And all 
my intermeddling only serves to put some flaw 
into the fabric or smash my fingers. 



118 



WEEK 57. 

WEEK 57. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Chron. 36. My Captivity. 
It is true of me, as of the ancient Hebrews, 
that my warnings have been ample. When I am 
punished, I have no reasonable complaint. It 
has all been foretold to me, so plainly, and so 
many times! 

Monday. Bead Ezra 1. My Return. 

My punishment— ever let me be sure of that— 
is not a day longer than it need be. It is never 
in wrath, but always in mercy. It is never re- 
vengeful, but always reformatory. My return 
from exile, my going back to my Father's house, 
depends always upon me, and never upon my 
Father. His arms are always open for me. 

Tuesday. Bead Ezra 2. My Genealogy. 
Some of Ezra's list could not reckon their fami- 
lies backward, and the Jews held it to be a great 
disgrace. Many of us moderns cannot go far 
back in our family histories. But what of that? 
I know whence my spiritual life, the only im- 
portant part of me, has had its source, and has 
its continuance. What are the genealogies of 
earth, to that of heaven? 

Wednesday. Bead Ezra 3. My Praises. 
I do not rejoice as I should. My praises are 
feeble, few, and often wrongly directed. Do I 
thank the Lord for the things in which He 
chiefly rejoices in my life? Or is it not for the 
least valuable blessings, the temporal gifts, the 
mere framework of the unspeakable gifts? O 
my God, teach me to praise Thee as I should! 

Thursday. Bead Ezra 4- My Associates. 

Shall I let men work with me just because they 

want to work with me? No; my comrades must 

become a part of myself, and they shall be those 

U9 



WEEK 57. 

that may without harm to me become a part of 
myself. When I am yoked with unbelievers it is 
always an unequal yoke, and my burden is not 
lightened, but increased. 

Friday. Bead Ezra 5. My Encouragement. 
How these Jewish records embody human his- 
tory! For I also have enemies, as they had ; and 
I also have a great task ; and I also have many 
hindrances and fears in my task ; and I also have 
prophets of encouragement, my Haggai and Zech- 
ariah. God grant that I may listen to my proph- 
ets, and be deaf to my enemies. 

Saturday. Bead Ezra 6. My Decrees. 
No king has ever made a decree in my favor, 
and bade my foes leave me alone, and ordered 
his officers to prosper my work. Ah, but is that 
true? Has not just such a decree been issued 
concerning me, and by the King of kings? Let 
my enemies hear it, let His officers heed it, and 
let me in the strength of it be bold about my 
work I 



120 



WEEK 58. 

WEEK 58. 

Sunday. Bead Ezra 7. My Purpose. 

It will be a happy day for me when I also can 
say, as Ezra said, that my life-purpose is " to 
seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to 
teach statutes and judgments." Seek, do, teach! 
Seek the highest, do the noblest, teach the wisest! 

Monday. Read Ezra 8. My Confidence. 

When the Lord has promised to be my Helper, 
let me not affront Him by seeking the help of the 
world! Let me not rely upon money, or the aid 
of men, or human learning, or my own ability. 
One only is Captain over me, and He will not 
share His authority with another. 

Tuesday. Bead Ezra 9. My Humiliation. 

I should grieve more over sin, my own sin and 
the sin of others. I should rend my heart, and 
sit in sorrow of soul. Do I not go lightly, as if it 
were a little thing? This thing which causes 
anguish in heaven! This thing which tore the 
Son from the bosom of the Father, and sent Him 
to the horrors of Calvary! 

Wednesday. Bead Ezra 10. My Separation. 
There is but one thing to*tio with sin, and that 
is to leave it! Yes, with whatever tears and 
groanings, with whatever pitiful woe, to leave it, 
and leave it altogether. There are other ways 
than the knife, but the disease returns. There 
are other ways than the fire, but the plague 
spreads. 

Thursday. Bead Nehemiah 1. My Prayers. 
How selfish are my prayers! How seldom do 
they melt in sorrow over the sins or misfortunes 
of others! How engrossed are they with my own 
hopes and fears, or with my own sins and repent- 
ance! Let me grieve; as Nehemiah grieved, over 

121 



WEEK 58. 

the iniquities of my people. Let the sorrows of 
my friends send me in an agony of supplication 
to my God. Yes, let me hear upon my heart the 
woes of the ends of the earth. 

Friday. Bead Nehemiah 2. My Survey. 
My work often fails because I go about it too 
hastily. I do not know the outlines of it. I have 
not counted the cost. I have not provided the 
tools. I have not made out my programme. No 
wonder I fail. Let me henceforth move wisely 
through life, with the leisureliness of one that is 
to inherit eternity. 

Saturday. Bead Nehemiah 3. My Portion. 
Just the particular bit of work entrusted to me, 
the portion over against my own house, that, O 
Lord, let me do, and do it well. Is the portion 
opposite another man's house poorly built? 
What is that to me? Is my portion larger or 
harder than any other's? So much the greater 
glory! 



122 



WEEK 59. 

WEEK 59. 

Sunday. Bead Nehemiah 4- My Adversaries. 

Fie! How should ridicule disturb me, or 
threats, or camps of hostile men? Am I not 
about the Lord's work? Am I not building the 
wall of the Holy City? I shall look to the Lord 
to defend His own. I shall keep my weapon in 
one hand, my tool in the other hand, and my 
heart lifted up to God. 

Monday. Bead Nehemiah 5. My Brethren. 

What am I, to make gain of other men? What 
do I deserve of the Lord more than they? Are 
we not all children of the same Father, gathered 
around the same table? And shall I, because my 
arms are longer, reach out and grasp more of the 
food? For shame, for shame, O greedy soul ! 

Tuesday. Bead Nehemiah 6. My Tobiahs. 

Humble as I am in myself, when I am about 
the Lord's work, no man on earth is before me. 
Let them send crafty messengers. Should I go 
down to them? Let the false prophets beseech 
me to hide myself. Should such a man as I flee? 
It is not my pow r er, but the Lord's; and it is not 
my dignity, but His. 

Wednesday. Bead Nehemiah 7. My Charge. 

O that this might be my epitaph : " He was a 
faithful man, and feared God above many"! 
Happy Hananiah! Happy any man, above the 
possessors of gold or laurel wreaths, who fears 
God and does His holy will! In that is the sun 
of human blessedness. 

Thursday. Bead Nehemiah 8. My Bible. 

If I would have a Bible, I must work for it. I 
must spend much time reading it and studying 
it. I must understand the meaning. I must hold 

123 



WEEK 59. 

my heart open to its rebukes. When I compre- 
hend one of its commands, I must go straightway 
and do it. And this, for me as for the returned 
exiles, will prove the way of gladness. 

Friday. Read Nehemiah 9. My Past. 

It has been a sad and sinful past. I have often 
turned aside from Thy way. I have forgotten 
Thy commandments. I have mocked Thy word. 
I have disregarded Thy warnings, and the 
punishments Thou hast sent have not touched 
my heart. But still Thou keepest hold of me, 
and still I will keep hold of Thee, O my God! 

Saturday. Read Neh. 10. My Agreement. 
The things that I know I should do for my God, 
God give me grace to promise to do them, and 
grace also to keep my promise! Seriously to 
consider the conditions of my life, boldly to 
enter upon my full duty, frankly to assent to it 
before men,— these are marks of a heroic soul. 
O that they may be true of me! 



124 



WEEK 60. 

WEEK 60. 

Sunday. Bead Nehemiah 11. My Jerusalem. 

Let me dwell in the holy places! It is a great 
temptation to live elsewhere, amid the noisy 
throngs, beside the marts, along the caravan 
routes, in Tyre, in Alexandria, in Babylon! But 
I will shut my eyes to all that, and Jerusalem 
shall be my home. " And the people blessed all 
the men that willingly offered themselves to 
dwell in Jerusalem." 

Monday. Bead Neli. 12. My Thanksgiving. 

I will mount my wall. I will look over the 
goodly lot in which my God has placed me. I 
will fill my heart with the memory of all my 
Father's goodness to me. And there I will lift up 
my voice in praise, " so that the joy may be heard 
even afar off." 

Tuesday. Bead Nehemiah 13. My Sabbaths. 

Grant me, O God, a Sabbath of the heart! If 
my soul goes not to church, it matters little 
whether my body goes or not. If my hands itch 
for the ledger and my mind is casting up figures, 
the choir may be singing and the minister preach- 
ing, or the carts may be rumbling in the streets, 
it is all one to me. Grant me, O God, Thy Sab- 
bath in my soul! 

Wednesday. Bead Esther 1. My Compliance. 

What another commands is not therefore mine 
to obey, but only when God commands as well. 
If I am sure that God commands a refusal, then 
the glory of obedience is mine in refusing. 
Among all the conflicting orders of earth no con- 
fusion of duty is possible for me. One alone has 
a right to give me orders, and His commands are 
always consistent. 

125 



WEEK 60. 

Thursday. Read Esther 2, My Advancement. 

The pious soul, like Esther, will always con- 
sider favor among men to be of the Lord. To be 
sure, the decision of the fickle Ahasuerus may 
have depended upon any one of a thousand 
chances; but God controls chances. In any 
event, His children will always regard popularity 
as a gift from Him, to be used in His service. 

Friday. Bead Esther 3. My Foes. 

If Esther is advanced, so also is Haman. On 
this earth the evil flourish as well as the good; 
but it is only on this earth, and often only for a 
short time on this earth. Over the head of every 
Haman hangs an invisible noose, which the 
Mordecais may see, if Haman does not. 

Saturday. Read Esther ^. My Destiny. 

I am" come to the kingdom " for a purpose. 
I was born at just the right time, my life's cir- 
cumstances were precisely what they should 
have been, my abilities, my friends, my posses- 
sions, all are exactly in accord with the task God 
has marked out for me. It has all been planned 
so carefully! And what disappointment there 
will be in heaven if I fail in my part of the enter- 
prise! 



12G 



WEEK 61. 

WEEK 61. 

Sunday. Bead Esther 5. My Daring. 

If I have the spirit of Christ, all doors will be 
opened to me, and all sceptres held out to me. 
If any doors are closed, they will be the doors 
that my Lord does not wish me to enter, and 
those doors I must not wish to enter. And 
if any sceptre is held up against me, threatening 
trial or death, such trial shall be joy, and such 
death shall be glorious! 

Mon. Bead Esther 6. My Enemy's Triumph. 

Sooner or later, my enemy shall triumph, and 
I shall assist at his triumph. If not to the eyes 
of men, at least in my own jealous imagination, 
he will don his rich garments and mount his 
royal steed, and I shall fancy I hear his praises 
shouted on every breeze. How much happier 
it will be for me not to have any enemy ! 

Tuesday, Bead Esther 7. My Gallows. 

Whatever gallows I erect for another, upon it 
I shall surely hang myself! I desire poverty for 
him, and how poor do I become in spirit! I wish 
him to be friendless; and, behold! I go lonely 
through the world. I pray for his death, and at 
the very thought my better nature expires. 

Wednesday. Bead Esther 8. My Reversals. 

It is happy for the man that is permitted to re- 
verse the evil decrees he has promulgated, repay 
his thefts, obtain pardon for his faults, make 
reparation for the injuries he has committed. 
Happy is the man whose ledger is balanced! 
And let me never forget that only One can 
balance the blurred ledger of my sinful years! 

Thursday. Bead Esther 9. My Memorial. 

If I should keep days sacred to the memory of 

God's special kindnesses to me, every day of all 

127 



WEEK 61. 

the year would be a festival! My mercies are 
more than I can number or recall. None the 
less, let me hold in memory those I can, and let 
me brighten all my years with those memorials. 

Friday. Bead Esther 10. My Exaltation. 

From a seat in sackcloth at the gate, to a seat 
next the king on his throne! That seemed im- 
possible for Mordecai. It seems impossible for 
us. And yet that is just the thing that is promised 
us, that we shall be seated upon thrones, and 
that we shall reign with the King of kings and 
Lord of lords. What sackcloth shall be insup- 
portable to us? 

Saturday. Bead Job 1. My Testing Time. 
How shall it be known that I really love God? 
that I serve Him because I love Him, and not 
for what I get from Him? How, unless I cease 
to get anything from Him? How, except He 
try me with bitter trials? And if I truly love 
Him, how welcome those opportunities of proof 
will be tome! 



128 



WEEK 62. 

WEEK 62. 

Sunday. Bead Job 2. My Stedfastness. 

That was a great answer of Job's, "Shall we 
receive good at the hand of God, and shall we 
not receive evil? " I trust God in times of bright- 
ness; shall I not trust Him when the darkness 
comes? Is my guide only for the levels, my 
pilot only for the calms? 

Monday. Bead Job 3. My Despair. 

When, like Job, I would curse the day of my 
birth, and wish that I had never come to see the 
light, let me consider how very willingly, in spite 
of all my troubles, I continue to see the light. 
By my very continuance in life I prove the value 
of the gift; and the existence that I affect to de- 
spise I would be the last to render up to the 
Giver. 

Tuesday. Bead Job 4- My Temerity. 
Whenever I find fault with the ordering of the 
universe, let me bethink myself with Whom I am 
finding fault. Shall I be wiser than my Creator? 
Shall I be more just than the Founder of Justice? 

Wednesday. Bead Job 5. My Correction. 

Why can I not train myself to see things as 
they are? Why is it so hard for me to rejoice in 
the chastenings that the Lord sends upon me? 
And yet I am well assured that no number of 
what the world would call blessings, though they 
crowded a hundred palaces, would afford me the 
joy in eternity that will spring from the least of 
God's correctings. 

Thursday. Bead Job 6. My Friendships. 

There are many disappointments upon earth, 
but none more severe than to be disappointed in 
one's friends. Yet one must be prepared even 

129 



WEEK 62. 

for that. We are to put no trust in friends, save 
the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 

Friday. Bead Job 7. My Weariness. 

It is well that the sorrows of life should come 
heavily upon us, so that we cry out in sharp an- 
guish, " I would not live alway! " This is our 
weaning from earth. This is our separation to 
heaven. This is our assurance that the next 
world is endlessly fairer than this, since a loving 
God is at such stern pains to tear us from this 
world. 

Saturday. Bead Job 8. My Hope. 

Yes, though my mouth as yet is filled with 
moans, it shall be filled with laughter. Yes, 
though my lips are still trembling with the burden 
of my grief, they are to open wide and strong 
with hallelujahs. A blessed time is coming, and 
no 1 ! even my tears shall be allowed to wash away 
the thought of it. 



130 



WEEK 63. 

WEEK 63. 

Sunday. Read Job 9. My Righteousness. 
How can a man be just with God? However 
righteous I may seem, my own mouth shall con- 
demn me, and my every act shall rise up against 
me. I cannot plead my own cause, so ashamed 
am I. O Christ, my Daysman, Thou wilt stand 
between me and my Judge, whom I have so 
deeply offended! 

Monday. Read Job 10. My Judge. 

Why indeed should God be so strict to mark in- 
iquity? Is it by way of persecution? Ah, no! 
but by way of reformation. A wise father will 
not neglect the smallest fault of his child. It is 
not because he dislikes the child, but because he 
loves him so deeply. 

Tuesday. Read Job 11. My Debate. 

Do I dare to parley with the Almighty? Am I 
so presumptuous as to pass judgment upon my 
Judge? How can I know Him who sits at the 
centre of the universe, and His hands reach to 
its circumference? What debate can I have with 
Him whose intelligence holds all things of space 
and time? 

Wednesday. Read Job 12. My Ruler. 
What man can be blind to God? What life is 
so bold as to disregard Him? Where shall one 
hide from His eyes, and the outreach of His 
hands? Oh, the unutterable folly of those that 
forget God, or scorn Him! They are like mari- 
ners that mock at the ocean, or birds that will 
deny the air. 

Thursday. Read Job IS. My Defiance. 

Sometimes I dare to challenge God. I venture 

to deny His righteousness, and complain of what 

I call His injustice. I do not deserve this sorrow, 

131 



WEEK 63. 

I say. " Prove that I deserve it! " I bid the All- 
wise. And God in mercy does not strike me 
down, but He leaves me to myself. And I am 
not left long with myself before I own His justice. 
Ah, when I know myself, I begin to know my 
God! 

Friday. Bead Job 14. My Immortality. 

" If a man die, shall he live again? " Ah, Job! 
hadst thou the flood of happy light upon that 
question which I see, springing from the tomb of 
the risen Christ! Am I half as grateful for it as I 
should be? Do I begin to realize the darkness 
of those Easterless days? 

Saturday. Bead Job 15. My Meditation. 
Let me study to know myself. Let me not 
trust in vanity, deceiving myself. Let me not 
"diminish meditation before God." A hasty 
man is confident of his own uprightness, but a 
thoughtful man knows his sin. 



132 



WEEK 64. 

WEEK 64. 

Sunday. Bead Job 16. My Comforter. 

Truly, there is poor comfort in man! How little 
do even my best friends know of my inward 
griefs, the battles of my soul! How poorly do 
they understand me, who so poorly understand 
themselves! But I have another one, a Comforter 
indeed. He knows me utterly, He sympathizes 
with me perfectly, He is nearer to me than I am 
to myself! 

Monday. Bead Job 17. My Purity. 

Surely, " He that hath clean hands shall wax 
stronger and stronger." I have seen that proved 
in the lives of many ; God grant me the proof of 
it in my own soul! God help me to the victorious 
purity that is as the strength of ten! 

Tuesday. Bead Job 18. My Wickedness. 
I have seen it in the world, I have seen it also 
in myself, that sin has no rest, no safety, no 
peace. There is no cover that can hide it, no 
fire that can warm it, no hand that can comfort 
it. Before it the earth is a desert. Above it the 
heavens are iron. Oh, the endless folly of the 
man that seeks after sin! 

Wednesday. Bead Job 19. My Consolation. 
Let the root of the matter be in me also, as in 
Job. Let me also be sure that my Redeemer 
liveth. Let me also be certain of His coming, at 
the last. After whatever sorrows and pains, 
after whatever disappointments and postpone- 
ments, after failures and shames, and the dark- 
ness of death, my Redeemer, my Redeemer, oh, 
my Redeemer! 

Thursday. Bead Job 20. My Failures. 

No failure of mine is decreed by Jehovah; 

nothing but the most entire success. But how I 

133 



WEEK 64. 

thwart the good purposes of my God! How 
when He plans fulness I devise emptiness, when 
He would execute triumphs I contrive defeats! 
Let me never accuse my God; let me see in my 
own heart the fountain of all my woes. 

Friday. Bead Job 21. My Perplexity. 
What if Jehovah does allow the wicked to 
flourish? Shall I therefore doubt His wisdom? 
Is it for more than a few years? Is the life of a 
man more than the passing of a cloud? The 
thoughts of God are long thoughts. Let me not 
judge the Most High along the line of human 
years. 

Saturday. Bead Job 22. My Friend. 

Among all my acquaintances, my familiars, the 
persons and things of my closest thought, is there 
room for the Maker of all tilings and persons? 
Am I truly acquainted with God? Or is my wor- 
ship words, and my prayer a pretence, and my 
Bible a pile of printed sheets? Oh, let my re- 
ligion be real! 



134 



WEEK 66. 

WEEK 65. 

Sunday. Bead Job 23. My Consolation. 

When men, even my friends, misjudge me, I 
have one sure comfort, that God does not mis- 
judge me. When my way seems dark, I have 
one unfailing cheer, that " He knoweth the way 
that I take." When trials are heavy upon me, 
this thought always lightens them: "When He 
hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." 

Monday. Bead Job 24. My Security. 

Not for a moment am I secure in evil. Though 
I seem walled around with all protection, God's 
least breath will blow down that wall. There is 
no safety but in God, to me or any man. 

Tuesday. Bead Job 25. My Righteousness. 

Shall I be just before God? Why, in the pres- 
ence of His purity my whiteness is as midnight. 
In front of His light my lamp is as coal. By the 
side of His goodness my best deeds are as a 
shame and a disgrace. Shall I vaunt myself, 
and not rather hide my head in fear and dis- 
honor? 

Wed. Bead Job 26. My Glimpses of God. 

Lo, I see but the outskirts of His ways. With 
every advance in the knowledge of God I per- 
ceive how little I knew of Him before. So will it 
be forever. Lord, I thank Thee that I can see 
Thee. Lord, I thank Thee that I can see so little 
of Thee! I would not have a God whom I could 
know altogether. 

Thursday. Bead Job 27. My Insistence. 

How I persist in justifying myself, like Job! 
How I insist that, though God's ways may be 
right, at any rate I know that mine are! How 
little I know of that humility which sees in every 

135 



WEEK 65. 

affliction only my just desert, and in every bless- 
ing an unmerited benefaction! How poorly, 
even after all these years, do I know myself! 

Friday. Bead Job 28. My Wisdom. 

I find myself seeking wisdom in all ways but 
the right way, and from all sources but the right 
source. It is not in nature. It is not in books. 
It is not in teachers. It is not in myself. It is 
not in history or experience. God, who made all 
these, is the only fountain of the wisdom of them 
all. When I seek wisdom elsewhere, I do not 
wisely. 

Saturday. Bead Job 29. My Past. 

Alas for me, if my eyes turn longingly to the 
months of old, if any days seem better to me than 
these days in which I am living now! God has 
not grown worse. The world has not grown 
worse. If my fortune is worse, whatever the 
outward husk of things may appear, it is because 
I am worse. There is no other way of worse- 
ening my fortune. 



W 



WEEK 66. 

WEEK 66. 

Sunday. Bead Job 30. My Despair. 

When it seems as if all the world was against 
me, let me not for an instant forget that Thou 
art not against me, that Thou canst never be 
against me. Over the howling of the wolves let 
me hear Thy whisper of love, and even in the 
mocking of my adversaries let me listen for the 
word of Thy comfort, O my God! 

Monday. Bead Job 31. My Morsel. 

Though it be only a morsel of comfort and 
happiness that I have, let me not eat my morsel 
alone! What is want to me would be abundance 
to many. When sorrow comes upon me, grant 
me the consolation of others' joy which I have 
brought about. So shall I find an alleviation of 
my woes. 

Tuesday. Bead Job 32. My Confidence. 

To me also God has given a message. It may 
not be a great message, but it is mine. It may 
be far inferior to what others have said, but they 
have not said it. And since God has given it to 
me to say, it is as important for me to say it as 
for Paul to utter his resplendent discourses, or 
Dante to write his Inferno. 

Wednesday. Bead Job 83. My Redemption. 

What cannot be wrought in me by reproaches, 
may instantly be wrought by love. What the 
thunders of Sinai cannot do, is done in my hard 
heart by a whisper from the cross of my Re- 
deemer. He has redeemed my soul from the pit. 
And now I know that my soul was in the pit. 

Thursday. Bead Job 34. My Rebellion. 

I must not condemn in Job what I may find in 
myself. Do not I also boast my own righteous- 

137 



WEEK 66. 

ness? Do not I also rebel against God's decrees? 
Do not I also set up my judgment against His? 

Friday. Read Job 35. My Words. 

Let me not "multiply words without knowl- 
edge." Let me think before L speak. Espe- 
cially, let me think before I speak about God. 
If for every idle word I shall give account in the 
last day, how much more when the idle words 
are directed against my Maker! 

Saturday. Read Job 36. My Affliction. 

It is not only that God will deliver me in my 
affliction. He will also, as was said to Job, " de- 
liver the afflicted by his affliction." My sins and 
sorrows shall become stepping-stones to higher 
things. I shall be cured by the poison that 
brought me low. God will make my wrath to 
praise Him. 



138 



WEEK 67. 

WEEK 67. 

Sunday. Bead Job 37. My Tempest. 

There is no tempest, however terrible, in 
which I may not see the hand of my Father. 
Though the storm uproot trees and overturn 
houses, yet it is His hand. Though the lightning 
destroy life, yet every bolt proceeds from the 
hand of my Father. And if I hold His hand, I 
shall be safe in any storm. 

Monday. Bead Job 38. My Provision. 
There is much in the natural world that I do 
not understand, but enough that I do understand 
to convince me of the goodness of God. There 
is the thunder-cloud, but there is also the sun- 
shine. There is the howling wolf, but there is 
also the raven provided with food, "when his 
young ones cry unto God." 

Tuesday. Bead Job 39. My Outlook. 

The beautiful world is a university, ever open 
to open eyes. How many lessons are daily pre- 
sented to me, lessons that I do not learn! Every 
field is full of parables, and every hill is a Ser- 
mon on the Mount! Enlighten my eyes, that I 
may see, O Thou God of nature. 

Wednesday. Bead Job 40. My Silence. 

Have I spoken, when God was speaking? Or 
have I laid my hand upon my mouth, and proved 
myself listening-wise? With what loud and pre- 
posterous words have I clamored up to heaven, 
and how seldom have I harkened to the great 
orations of the sky! 

Thursday. Bead Job ^i. My Leviathans. 

Has the progress of my science made leviathan 
seem a small thing? Has the familiar universe 
grown commonplace? Are the primal curiosity 

139 



WEEK 67. 

and freshness worn off from my soul? Alas for 
me, when God's leviathans are only flies on my 
horizon ! 

Friday. Bead Job 4%- My Kepentance. 

When I bow the head of my pride, when T 
know the sin of my heart, when I am willing that 
all men should know it, when I see how little I 
know, how little I can do, and see also how much 
God knows, how much God can do, and when I 
escape from the captivity of my pride and pas- 
sion into love for my friends,— then, ah! then 
God can bless me. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 1. My Delight. 

I am not safe when I obey the law, but when I 
love it. I am not safe when I can explain the 
law, but when I meditate upon it with pleasure. 
The river of all blessings may flow at my feet, 
but thirst alone can lift its waters along the 
channels of my life^ and out into leaf and flower. 



140 



WEEK 68. 

WEEK 68. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 2. My Victory. 

I am on the winning side, when I side with 
God! Let the heathen rage; God will laugh. 
Let the worldlings vaunt themselves; God will 
turn their triumphs into dust. The earth is the 
inheritance of my Christ ; therefore the earth is 
my inheritance also. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 3. My Shield. 

In the presence of my enemies,—! shall go to 
sleep! It shall not be the sleep of carelessness, 
but the sleep of confidence. And I shall awake 
in safety, refreshed, for the Lord will sustain me ; 
His shield will ever be over my head. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 4* My Safety. 

Upon my bed, in the awed night watches, I 
will think of God, and be still. Upon my bed I 
will lay me down in peace, and sleep. The awe 
and the peace both speak of Thee, O my Pro- 
tector. The fear of Thee casts me at Thy feet, 
and there the love of Thee casts out the fear. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 5. My Worship. 

In the morning shalt Thou hear my voice, O 
God; in the morning, in the privacy of my own 
familiar place. And also Thy house shall hear 
me, and Thy holy temple shall know me. My 
worship before men shall be built upon my secret 
prayers ; and my secret prayers shall be quick- 
ened and enlarged by my worship in the open. 
Thus shall my whole life be made a communion 
with God. 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 6. My Fear. 

Surely many are they that seek after my soul. 
My enemies are without, hostilities of evil men. 
sneers of unbelieving men, temptations from 

141 



WEEK 68. 

crafty men, hindrances thrust in my way by care- 
less men. Far more are my enemies within, 
the sins that so easily beset me. But Thou, O 
Lord, wilt deliver my soul, and all my enemies 
shall turn back. I shall pray to Thee, and they 
will be ashamed. 

Friday. Read Psalm 7. My Foes. 

What trouble is greater than an undeserved 
enemy? When my motives are misconstrued, 
and my words wrested from their meaning, my 
honey turned to gall, and my outstretched hands 
interpreted as a threat, life is indeed awry, and 
bitterness enters my soul. But God does not 
misinterpret, and God shall interpret me to the 
world. Indeed, what care I for the world, while 
God interprets me to Himself? 

Saturday. Read Psalm 8. My Humility. 

Surely the heavens, so lordly high, shall abase 
my pride. Surely in all space, reaching out end- 
lessly, there is room for all things save one,— the 
self-conceit of man! Thy name, Thy glory, O 
Lord, my God; and let me have done with even 
the thought of my name and my glory 1 



142 



WEEK 69. 

WEEK 69. 

Sunday. Read Psalm 9. My Judge. 

He that judges the nations will judge me. And 
as I see Him judging the nations, I know that 
His judgment of me will be kind and right. He 
is patieut with the nations, long-suffering and 
merciful. When He punishes, there is no escape 
from the sentence; but He does not willingly 
afflict the children of men. And I need all of 
His mercy. 

Monday. Read Psalm 10. My Folly. 

Am I of those that say in their hearts, " There 
is no God "? Do I cheat myself with the thought, 
"He will not require it"? Let me examine my 
soul, that it be not guilty of such final folly. One 
thing let me never forget, that God knows, that 
God remembers. 

Tuesday. Read Psalm 11. My Temple. 
The Lord is in His holy temple. And where is 
His holy temple? Is it in the heavens? Yes. 
Is it on earth? Yes. It is where God is. God 
never leaves His holy temple. And what if I ob- 
tain God for my heart? 

Wednesday. Read Psalm 12. My Tongue. 
My lips are not my own. It would be a dread- 
ful thing if my words were my own. I who can- 
not keep my heart, how could I keep my lips? I 
whose deeds go so sadly awry, how could I con- 
trol the wings of words? Do Thou, O Lord, 
govern my mouth, for by my words I am justified, 
or condemned. 

Thursday. Read Psalm 13. My Impatience. 

"How long?" I often cry. "How long this 

sorrow?" "How long this delay?" "How 

long this temptation and this failure?" "How 

143 



WEEK 69. 

long, O Lord, how long? " But that is when I 
look upon my lot, and do not look upon Thee, 
who orderest ray lot. When I look upon Thee, 
my heart begins to sing. 

Friday. Bead Psalm 14. My Ransom. 
I am a captive now. Captive to dread. Cap- 
tive to doubt. Captive to sin. Captive to misery 
and weakness. But the Lord will bring back my 
captivity. Its end is certain, however the chains 
may press upon me ; for I trust in God. And in 
that thought the chains almost become garlands. 

Saturday. Read Psalm 15. My Foundation. 
Uprightness, innocence, heart truth, love to 
neighbors, a governed tongue, honorable and 
merciful dealings with all men,—" He that doeth 
these things shall never be moved." But who 
can do them? On what sliding foundation do we 
all stand!. Ah, let mine be the righteousness of 
the One Only Good! Ah, let me be founded upon 
the Rock! 



144 



WEEK 70. 

WEEK 70. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 16. My God. 

What words can I find to praise Thee, O my 
God! I have no good beyond Thee, no safety, no 
joy, no hope. The thought of Thee is ever before 
me ; and if at any time it is not before me, that is 
a time of darkness and sorrow. Ever be Thou 
mine, O my God! 

Monday. Bead Psalm 17. My Protection. 

T do not pray to be saved from the world, but 
from worldliness; nor from proud men, but from 
pride; nor from others at all, but from myself. 
Save me from myself, O God; save me to Thy- 
self! Let me behold Thy face day by day, and 
ever more and more clearly, until I awake in Thy 
kingdom, and am satisfied with the perfect vision. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 18. My Red Sea. 

Pharaoh is in pursuit of me, with all his host. 
His chariots shine in the sun ; I hear the shouts 
of his horsemen. All the troops of ungodliness 
haste after my soul. But Thou hast made a way 
for me through the sea. Thou dost cause a storm 
to break over their heads. None that trust in 
Thee are ever confounded. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 19. My Firmament. 

As the stars gleam above me in the heavens, so 
brightly shine the words of the Book. As the 
sun is king of the sky, so the Lord Jesus is King 
of Light in the Book. Oh, may I learn the as- 
tronomy of the Bible! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 20. My Banner. 
What banner do I really follow? Not the flut- 
tering cloth that men see, but the true ensign that 
God sees, and that really leads me on? Oh, if it 
bears the token of the world, a golden coin, a 

145 



WEEK 70. 

crown, a bunch of grapes, let me tear it from the 
staff, and let me raise in its stead over my life the 
white-red banner of the cross! 

Friday. Read Psalm 21. My Power. 

I am mighty, for my God is mighty! I am more 
powerful than all my enemies, for my God is 
more powerful than all my enemies. I am blessed 
in all ways, for my God has all blessing in His 
keeping. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 22. My Despair. 

"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken 
me?" If even Christ cried out thus, why not I? 
Because Christ thus cried out, and received an 
answer, for Himself, and me, and all men. Be- 
cause His despair received the eternal assurance 
of union with the Father, and" with all Goodness 
and Love and Joy! 



146 



WEEK 71. 

WEEK 71. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 23. My Shepherd. 
The Lord is my Shepherd. He is my Shepherd 
if I will let Him lead me. He is my Shepherd if I 
choose His still waters and green pastures. He 
is not my Shepherd if I choose the barren rocks 
and the desert sands, l^ord, wilt Thou be my 
Shepherd indeed! 

Monday. Bead Psalm 24. My King. 

The Lord is my King of glory. The earth is 
His, and therefore mine. The battle is His, and 
therefore mine. The glory is His, and therefore 
mine. And clean hands and a pure heart shall 
make me His. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 25. My Guide. 

The Lord will show me His ways. He will 
teach me His paths. He will guide me in His 
truth. He will guide me in His judgment. He 
will instruct me in the way of His choosing. It 
must be the way of His choosing. He will not 
guide me in my way. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 26. My Judge. 

I have walked in my integrity; judge me, O 
God! for I have trusted in Thy integrity. I have 
washed my hands in innocency ; judge me, O 
God! for I have washed them in the blood from 
Thy altar. I will walk in my integrity ; judge me, 
O God! for I have been redeemed from my un- 
righteousness. 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 27. My Stronghold. 

Though a host is encamped against me, God is 
the stronghold round about me. Though per- 
sistent enemies seek me out, God will hide me in 
His tent. Though an " ocean of trouble rage 
around me, God will iift me up on a rock. I will 

147 



WEEK 71. 

not be proud, for I am very weak ; but I will not 
fear, for God is very strong. 

Friday. Bead Psalm 28. My Answer. 

Men may close their ears against me, but God 
is obliged by His very nature to hear me. If it 
were possible for God not to hear my supplica- 
tions, or, hearing, not to answer in the way that 
is best, God would not be God. How is it, then, 
that my prayers have so little confidence? 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 29. My Listening. 
Do I not hear all other voices more than the 
voice of God? that voice which is so much better 
worth hearing than all other voices! It is every- 
where to be heard, yet I hear it in so few places. 
Is it not because I fill my soul with the foolish 
clamor of the world? 



148 



WEEK 72. 

WEEK 72. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 30. My Recovery. 

My weeping was only for a night ; joy lias come 
in the morning. Joy comes always in the morn- 
ing, when one has spent the night with Thee, O 
my God! Every hour of darkness, however 
black with distress, is preparing it. Beneath the 
darkness Thy sun is steadily moving, bringing it. 
And nothing is surer than the sunrise. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 31. My Trust. 

Whatever terrible thing assails me shall have 
no terror for me. Every foe shall bring a present 
in his hand. All slanders shall be cryptograms 
of praise. This is because Thou, my Father, art 
in all things, and because I trust in Thee. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 32. My Confession. 

God be praised for the human conscience! God 
be praised for the agonies of remorse! God be 
praised that He does not leave the sinner at rest! 
It was my distress led to confession, and con- 
fession led to pardon, and pardon led to peace. 
Blessed the road, however rough, that leads to* 
such a home! 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 33. My Praise. 

It is good to rejoice in the world, but it is better 
to rejoice in the world's Creator. It is good to 
value beauty, but it is better to value the Beau- 
tiful One. Praise is comely, but the nobler its 
object, the more ennobling it is. 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 34. My Boast. 

If I am proud, let me be proud of my God! My 
soul shall make her boast in Him. If I am proud 
of father and mother, sister and brother, wife 
and children, how much more of Him who gave 
me all these! If I am glad of my own abilities, 

149 



WEEK 72. 

how much more shall I rejoice in Him who 
fashioned them and sustains them from day to 
day! 

Friday. Read Psalm 35. My Imprecations. 
The Lord has pleasure in the prosperity of His 
servant. My enemies are the enemies of the 
Lord, so long as I am the Lord's. That the 
Lord's cause may triumph, let them he con- 
founded! That their own true cause may tri- 
umph, let them he confounded! 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 36. My Eefuge. 

Under the shadow of Thy wings! Peace is 
there, and safety. Loving-kindness is there, and 
all satisfying pleasures. Light is there, in that 
shadow ; light more illuminating than the bright- 
est sunshine. And life is there, the life that 
never dies, under the shadow of Thy wings. 



150 



WEEK 73. 

WEEK 73. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 37. My Fretting. 
I am guilty of many sins, but worrying is so in- 
cessant that perhaps in its aggregate it exceeds 
them all. I fret over the wrong-doing of others, 
over my own misfortunes, over the failures of 
yesterday and the fears of to-day. And all the 
time God is in His heaven! Yea, all the time 
God is on His earth! 

Monday. Bead Psalm 38. My Wounds. 
I cut myself, I bruise myself, I weaken myself, 
I poison myself, and when my wounds rankle 
and my strength fails, I make bold to cry out 
against the Lord! It would be just if the heavens 
should open with a thunderbolt for my head, if 
the earth should open and swallow me up! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 39. My Chance. 
Few are the days in which I may yet do well. 
Each nightfall brings me nearer my final account- 
ing, each dawn may be the dawn of the judgment 
day. O that I may make haste to serve the 
Lord! To-day, while each minute grasps the 
skirts of an eternity, to-day, ere it is too late, let 
me make haste to be wise! 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 40. My Offerings. 

Such offerings as can be laid upon an altar and 
burned with fire, or placed in a contribution-box 
and put in a bank, are little pleasing to my God, 
without my heart. One thing He desires, and 
that one thing must be the sum of my desires,— 
that I should give Him myself. How strange 
that He, the Lord of the universe, should be kept 
out of this one desire!— how strange, and how 
sad! 
Thursday. Bead Psalm 41- My Poor. 

Not merely the poor in purse, but the poor in 
strength, the poor in friends, the poor in hope 

151 



WEEK 73. 

and cheer,— these are my poor, because they are 
my God's. They are mine to know. They are 
mine to help and comfort. They are mine, yea, I 
see sometimes that they are the very best of my 
possessions. 

Friday. Bead Psalm 42. My Thirst. 

Mine is a thirsty soul, in a thirsty land. I 
pant after something, I seldom know what. Ever 
it is Thee, O God, for which I pant, even when I 
do not know it. Ever, though I drink from many 
fountains, my soul is thirsty till it drinks of Thee. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 43. My Leading. 

I follow the mirages of the world. Fair over 
the desert they falsely shine, and tantalize my 
soul with promise of shelter and refreshment. 
Over and over they cheat me, but I follow them 
just the same. O send out Thy light, which is 
Thy truth, and let it lead me to Thy holy hill! 



152 



WEEK 74. 

WEEK 74. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 44> My Complaint. 
How strange it sometimes sounds, to call upon 
God to awake! He sleep, who made sleep? And 
yet I often raise that impious cry. I often charge 
the Lord with forgetfulness, with carelessness. 
Why, if God could forget, if God could cease to 
care, in that instant the foundations of the world 

would return to chaos, and the universe would 

r 

cease to be. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 45* My Gladness. 
Let me not, because it is mine, fail to sing the 
praise of the goodness of God! These gifts He 
has given me, are they to my credit? Nay, rather 
to my great discredit, because I have made so 
little of them! It is false modesty that keeps me 
from singing their praises, for they are all of God. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 46. My Refuge. 

How instinctive is my recourse to God? Do I 
turn to Him at the first hint of misfortune, or do I 
seek rather to exhaust my other supports, and 
go to Him as the last resource? Not thus does a 
father like his son to depend upon him, or a 
mother her daughter. 

Wed. Bead Psalm 4?- My Inheritance. 
God shall choose my inheritance for me. I 
shall not choose it myself. Sometimes I wish to 
choose it for myself. Sometimes God gives me 
my choice. And then what folly is in my choice ! 
And how unwise it is to choose, when perfect 
Wisdom is ready to make the selection for me! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 4$- My Permanence. 

My God is God for ever and ever. The city He 
establishes is forever established. To death 
and beyond, for generation after generation, un- 
moved, unchanged, the one Permanence of the 

153 



WEEK 74. 

universe! And shall I build except upon His 
laws? 

Friday. Read Psalm 49. My Honor. 

What wealth I have, whether much or little, 
what reputation I have, whether much or little, 
what ability I have, whether much or little, let it 
all be one. My wealth I must leave to others, 
my worldly lore will perish with the world, and 
in heaven there's many a child will be honored 
before Alexander! 

Saturday. Read Psalm 50. My Sacrifices. 

If I have set up God's altar in my heart, if I 
burn there the fire of sincere devotion, what 
cares my God for other temple, or other sacri- 
fices? Other altars are good, but as the symbols 
of this altar. Other temples are to be raised and 
honored, but only that this temple may be raised 
and filled with song. 



154 



WEEK 75. 

WEEK 75. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 51: My Purification. 

There is no delight like the delight of clean- 
ness. There is no strength like the strength of 
purity. There is no beauty like the beauty of 
whiteness. And this cleanness, purity, and 
beauty come from no spring of earth. Wash 
Thou me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 52. My Boasting. 

Am I among those that make not God their 
strength, but trust in the very abundance that 
God has given them? Do I boast of my goods 
rather than give praise for my God? Let me 
take warning from other fools in their folly. Let 
me behold and see that there is no strength save 
in the Almighty. 

Tuesday. Read Psalm 53. My Atheism. 

If I live as if there were no God, no God to pro- 
tect, no God to console, no God to punish, what 
am I but the fool that said in his heart, " There 
is no God"? What is the atheism of the lips, 
compared with the atheism of the life? 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 54. My Helper. 

There is no human help but may fail me. 
Human wisdom is weak, human strength falters, 
even human love may lapse ; but when these all 
give way, then most of all the arms of the Lord 
sustain me. It is worth the failure of all else to 
know that the Lord never fails! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 55. My Flight. 

How often have I also, like David, longed for 
wings to fly from all my trouble, to some wilder- 
ness lodge, where I might be at rest! But the 
Lord has not given me wings, but a burden in- 

155 



WEEK 75. 

stead. And He bids hie remain where I am, and 
carry it. Ah, but He is ready to carry it with me ! 

Friday. Read Psalm 56. My Tears. 

If God numbers every hair of my head, surely 
He has regard to every tear of my eyes! He re- 
cords them in His book, He treasures them in 
His bottle,— tears of sympathy, tears of repent- 
ance, tears of excess of grateful joy! 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 57. My Snares. 

They are all about me,— the liers in wait, the 
traps set, the pits dug, the net cunningly spread. 
I cannot move without peril. How dare I move 
without Thee, my God! But with Thee, the am- 
bush is discovered, the traps are sprung empty, 
the net is blown away, and my enemies fall into 
their own pits! 



156 



WEEK 76. 

WEEK 76. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 58. My Deafness. 

To what purpose are the wise wise, except as 
men hear? What noble thoughts are brought to 
naught by closed ears! How many great lives 
are rendered nugatory for lack of listening! If 
I cannot be a wise thinker, let me at least not be 
deaf to the words of wisdom. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 59. My Tower. 

When I would rise above the trials that vex me, 
the Lord shall be my high tower. When I seek a 
night from which to overcome my adversaries, 
the Lord shall be my high tower. When I would 
be quiet and at peace, away from the turmoil of 
earth, the Lord shall be my high tower. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 60. My Banner. 

It is not a banner of pride, but a banner of 
humility, and the fear of the Lord. It is a ban- 
ner of pride, but not the pride of man ; pride in 
the Almighty One, who is my leader. And it is 
displayed, not to terrify men, even my foes, but 
to lead men, to draw them to God's truth. 

"Wednesday. Bead Psalm 61. My Kock. 

It is a rock that is higher than I. If it were 
not, it would not be higher than the waves of my 
troubles, for they mount over my head. But the 
rock to which I cling rises majestic over all 
waves. It reaches down to the bottom of the 
sea. No storm of heaven can move it. 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 62. My Expectation. 

Truly hope is a mighty power. It is the spring 
of life. When spring is at hand, I do not mind 
the final storms, however bleak, for I know that 
the blossom time is near. And Thou, O Lord, 
art my expectation, my hope, my spring eternal! 

157 



WEEK 76. 

Friday. Read Psalm 63. My Nights. 

Then, when the noises of the world are hushed, 
speak Thou to me. When a curtain is drawn 
over the sights of earth, appear Thou to me. 
When I have leisure from earth's toil, let me find 
time for Thee. May my nights be holy with the 
practice of the presence of God. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 64. My Gladness. 

Let my religion be an exultation! Not merely 
a duty, not merely a routine, not merely a task, 
not merely a satisfaction and a pride, but a joy, a 
delight, an exhilaration, a passion! If I have 
any desire that surpasses it, that desire shall te 
accounted treachery to my King. 



158 



WEEK 77. 

WEEK 77. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 65. My Abundance. 

All Thy ways are ways of plenty, my Father. 
Along other paths there is poverty, along other 
paths men's faces are haggard and their souls 
faint within them; but along Thy paths the trees 
are heavy with fruit, and the springs sparkle 
with health. There is no want to them that love 
Thee. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 66. My Testing. 

What though Thou makest me to go through 
fire and water, to test me? If it is to test me, is 
not Thine eye upon me, and can I be afraid? 
What though the furnace of affliction is my lot? 
It is silver, or the possibility of silver, that is cast 
into the furnace. Thou dost do it to my praise! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 67. My Beturn. 

God's mercy upon me, God's blessing upon me, 
the shining of God's face upon me,— and why? 
That His way may be known upon earth, His 
health to all nations. Ah, what return am I mak- 
ing to the Lord for all His benefits? 

Wed. Bead Psalm 68. My Burden-Bearer. 

Shall I stagger under the weight of my burdens, 
when the Almighty is ready to lift them up and 
bear them, and me with them? That would be 
worse pride than folly, and worse folly than 
pride. Nay, blessed be the Lord, who daily bear- 
eth my burden ! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 69. My Zeal. 

All strong affection has. its pains. The more I 
love God, the more I shall be disturbed by the 
hostility of God's foes, the sneers of infidels, the 
injuries of the church and the barriers set up in 

159 



WEEK 77. 

its way. But though love has its pains, who 
would not love? 

Friday. Bead Psalm 70. My Impatience. 
Make no tarrying, O my God! My needs cry 
out to Thee. My poverty cries out to Thee. My 
sins and temptations cry out to Thee. I cannot 
do without Thee, not for a day or a night. Make 
haste, O my God, to deliver! 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 71. My Posterity. 

All that God has done for me is a plea that I 
should do much for those that are to come after 
me. What right have I had to these many bless- 
ings? And surely no right, if I do not pass them 
on to others. I stand at the gatehouse in the 
great aqueduct of God's blessings. Shall I shut 
down the gate? 



160 



WEEK 78. 

WEEK 78. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 72. My Dominion. 
Where my. Lord is King, there am I also a 
king! He grants me His glory, and whatsoever 
is His is mine. In seeking to extend His king- 
dom I am seeking to extend my own. In exalt- 
ing Him I am exalting myself. Oh, blessed union 
of disciple and Master, where neither knows 
what it means to withhold! 

Monday. Bead Psalm 73. My Peril. 

My feet had slipped, my danger was great, I 
had almost fallen. My peril was an invisible 
peril, the great danger of envy, leading to the 
greater danger of a distrust of God. Let me see 
that this is my greatest danger, and that recogni- 
tion of it will be a safeguard against it. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 74. My Impatience. 
The Lord's time seems a long time! But I 
must remember that with the Lord a thousand 
years are as one day. I must seek to accustom 
myself to the long reaches of heaven. I must not 
wish to dwarf God's great providence to the 
petty measure of my impatience. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 75. My Cup. 
The cup of my fortune, in the hand of the Lord, 
shall I not drink it, and gladly? If it is bitter, it 
is medicinal. If it is but a swallow, more would 
harm me. If others have a fuller cup, they are 
no more blessed than I; for the blessing is to 
have a cup at all, in the hands of the Lord! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 76. My Contribution. 
All the earth shall praise the Lord. But some 
will praise Him with joy and by lives in which 
His will is done. And others will praise Him in 
spite of themselves, and by lives upon which His 

161 



WEEK 78. 

will is imposed. Which is to be my contribution 
to the universal pgean? 

Friday. Read Psalm 77. My Remembrance. 
I, too, have had songs in the night. 1, too, have 
seen Christ shining against the darkness. I, too, 
have had prison doors opened, and rainbows 
against the clouds, and a refuge in the storms. 
And what I have had once, let me perpetuate it, 
and have it daily, by the regal power of memory. 

Saturday. Read Psalm 78. My History. 
I am a part of the history of God's people. 
What they have suffered, I have suffered. Their 
calamities are mine, their rescues are mine, their 
triumphs also are mine. What God has done for 
His people, all through the ages, He has done no 
less for me. I will live upon God's goodness in 
the past as well as upon His goodness in the 
present. 



162 



WEEK 79. 

WEEK 79. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 79. My Ruins. 

The enemy lias come, and lias left my life in 
ruins. The enemy is Sin. The ruins are ruins of 
character, and of all else that ruined character 
brings down with it. " Help me, O God of my 
salvation, and purge away my sin, for Thy name's 
sake." 
Monday. Bead Psalm 80. My Quickening. 

Until I turn from death, how shall I he quick- 
ened into life? Until God turn His face upon 
me, how shall I turn from death? But God has 
turned upon me the shining of His face. Nay, 
He has never turned it from me. I have only 
turned away my eyes, and closed them. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 81. My Feasting. 
The finest of the wheat is mine, and honey out 
of the rock. Nothing that is sweet and strength- 
ening, nothing that is healthful and satisfying, is 
left out of my larder, is lacking from my table. 
For it is the table that God prepares for me, even 
in the presence of my enemies. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 82. My Judge. 
If I were to be judged by a man, I could never 
stand. If I had to confess my sins to a man, my 
tongue and my heart would fail me. But He is 
to be my judge who knows me thoroughly. He 
knows my desires for good as well as my falls 
into evil. He knows my sins, but also my tempta- 
tions. He knows my frame, He remembers that 
I am dust ; for was it not from the dust that He 
formed me? 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 83. My Foes. 
Let my enemies be the enemies of my God! 
Let me forget who are my own foes, in remem- 
bering His. Let me bury my poor quarrels in 

163 



WEEK 79. 

waging His great war, a war whose end is peace 
and whose weapons are love. 

Friday. Bead Psalm 84. My Home. 

My home shall be the house of the Lord. 
There, where He loves to dwell, shall be my fa- 
vorite abiding place. Those walls shall be my 
shield, that altar shall be my sun. All the paths 
of my business shall be high ways thither. And 
my longings shall fly to those courts with the in- 
stinct of a bird for her nest. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 85. My Mercy. 
It is my mercy, and not another's. It is the 
mercy that God has shown to me alone. He has 
taken thought for me. He has singled me out 
from the host of sinful men. He has reached His 
hand to me. He has laid it upon my head, fever- 
ish with sin. He has touched me, and the fever 
has left me. He has shown me His mercy, and it 
has become mine. 



164 



WEEK 80. 

WEEK 80. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 86. My Teacher. 
Unless God teach me His way, I cannot learn 
it. Man cannot teach it to me, not even the wis- 
est man. Books cannot teach it to me, not even 
the Book of books. My own heart, least of all, 
can teach it to me. But if God teach me, then I 
can learn from my own heart, and from other 
men, from books, and from the Book. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 87. My Fountains. 

The springs of my life are in Thee, O God. If 
at any time I turn in my folly to other fountains, 
I find them dry. Some of them are worse than 
dry: they run poison. But in Thee, O God, is a 
well of living water, springing up unto eternal 
life. 
Tuesday. Bead Psalm 88. My Affliction. 

Darkness is round about me, but Thou art in 
the darkness. 1 cannot see Thee, but Thou canst 
see me. I cannot hear Thee, but I can cry unto 
Thee, and Thou canst hear me. It is a comfort 
to know that Thou art there, and listening. It is 
all the comfort I have. Therefore it is all the 
comfort I need. 
Wednesday. Bead Psalm 89. My Light. 

Let me walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy coun- 
tenance. It is easy to stray aside to other lights. 
The world's will-o'-the-wisps seek to draw me 
hither and yon. The torches of their triumphs 
would allure me, the glare of their festivities, the 
glitter of their rainbow beauty. But the light of 
Thy countenance is pure and sweet as a May 
morning. It is holy as a twilight in June. It is 
invigorating as a noon in December! 

Thursday. Bead Ps. 90. My Dwelling Place. 

God, the Home of my soul! Its ancient home, 

before the mountains were brought forth, fts 

165 



WEEK 80. 

present home, as I number my days on earth. 
Its future home, as the beauty of the Lord de- 
scends upon me, and the work of my hands is 
established forever. 

Friday. Bead Ps. 91. My Shadow Refuge. 
God is my shadow from the sun, from the 
scorching of life's deserts. God is my shadow 
from my foes, hiding me from their pursuit. God 
is my shadow for rest, for the sleep that means 
renewing of life. God is my shadow even when I 
enter the land of the shadow of death, and I 
shall fear no evil. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 92. My Prosperity. 
I will allow myself no fear of poverty or failure. 
I cannot fear God, and fear these things. I can- 
not trust God, and not trust Him for all things. 
Because He is my God, I shall flourish and 
prosper in every way. Not because I am I, but 
because He is God, and my God. 



166 



WEEK 81. 

WEEK 81. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 93. My Lord. 

I rejoice in God. I exult in the majesty of 
Jehovah. Who is King, like my God? Who is 
Power, like my God? Who is Sublimity, like the 
Lord of Hosts? In the firmness of His throne 
my heart is established. In His glory my life is 
illuminated. In the splendor of His presence I 
walk erect. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 94. My Doubts. 
When ray words seemed to return to me fruit- 
less., how did I forget God! When I fancied that 
my Father in heaven did not see my need, what 
injustice I did Him! He that planted the ear, 
shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, 
shall He not see? 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 95. My Heeding. 

God's voice is to be heard to-day, and no other 
day. My heart must be attentive to-day, and at 
no other time. I have no other time. There is 
no other day. In all the measureless, reaches of 
eternity, there is no time that is mine except to- 
day- Oh, let me hear, and let me heed! 

Wed. Bead Psalm 96. My Expectation. 
He is to come! He is to judge! His Kingdom 
is to rule! His will is to be done! His joy is to 
flood the earth! His praise is to fill the heavens! 
Before Him the wicked are to tremble! Before 
Him the righteous are to bow adoringly! And 
to-morrow, yea, this very day, may be that time! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 97. My Hatred. 

If my love ol the Lord is to be measured by my 
hatred of evil, how much do I love the Lord? Do 
I hate it with a perfect hatred? The evil that is 
in other men, do I loathe it, or condone it? The 

167 



WEEK 81. 

evil that is in me, do I strive against it to the 
death? How much do L really love the Lord? 

Friday. Bead Psalm 98. My New Song. 
What is in the new song that was not in the 
old songs? The other psalms have said all this, 
over and over. Ah, yes; but that is the joy of 
true religion, that it is ever new. New as God's 
morning mercies. Fresh as His evening faith- 
fulness. God's never-old love shall be praised 
in ever-new songs. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 99. My Pardon. 

When I ask for forgiveness, is it not often 
merely for escape from penalty? I do not like 
the consequences of my sin. I do not so much 
dislike sin itself. But what I need is to get rid of 
the love of sin, not of sin's consequences. The 
last is only pleasant, but the first is necessary. 
Take vengeance, then, of my doings, God, but 
forgive me. 



168 



WEEK 82. 

WEEK 82. 
Sunday. Bead Psalm 100. My Owner. 
I am not my own. I am bought with a price. 
It is a price that a Creator alone could pay. I am 
His because He made me. First He created me, 
and then He created me anew in Christ Jesus. 
Surely I will enter His gates with thanksgiving, 
and His courts with praise. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 101. My Resolve. 
Since I am the Lord's, since He actually cares 
that I should be His, I will try to walk worthily 
of my Lord. His enemies shall be mine. His 
friends shall be mine. His desires shall be mine. 
His tasks shall be mine. And his presence shall 
be with me, forever. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 102. My Sighing. 

How pitiful are my complaints, O Thou the Joy 
of the whole earth! How childish are my fears, 
O Thou who hast never failed! How short- 
sighted is my vision, O Thou the Creator of the 
ends of the earth! Turn Thou my groanings into 
rejoicings, and teach me the wisdom of happi- 
ness. 
Wednesday. Bead Psalm 103. My Father. 

I know how earthly fathers love; and God 
made earthly fathers and their love. I know 
how long-suffering are the earthly fathers whom 
God has made. I know their joy in their chil- 
dren when they do well, and their great sorrow 
in their children when they do ill. And yet from 
all this how little do I learn, in my stupid heart, 
about the perfect Father who made fathers! 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 10 4. My Universe. 

In what a large and wonderful place God has 

set my feet! It has no bounds of space or time. 

It is endless in variety, exquisite in loveliness. 

169 



WEEK 82. 

It is warm throughout with the Father's love. It 
thrills throughout with the Creator's power. It 
is firm everywhere with Jehovah's wisdom. O 
God, help me to be more worthy of Thy universe 
—and mine. 

Friday. Read Psalm 105. My Predecessors. 
I praise Thee, O God, for the way in which 
Thou hast led the world hitherto. I praise Thee 
for noble women and strong men. I praise Thee 
for great thoughts, sweeping down through the 
ages. I praise Thee for the marvels of Thy provi- 
dence. I praise Thee for Thyself! 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 106. My Inborn Sins. 
Yes, I also have sinned with my fathers. Their 
iniquity has descended upon my generation, and 
I have taken it unto myself. They were disobe- 
dient, and I am repeating their rebellion. They 
forgot Thee, and I constantly forget Thee. O 
that I might become wiser than my fathers, in- 
stead of more foolish than they! 



170 



WEEK 83. 



WEEK 83. 



Sunday. Bead Psalm 107. My Mercies. 
How long would be the catalogue of God's 
goodnesses to me! Not all earth's libraries 
could contain the books that would need to be 
written. Yet how short is the list that I have 
ever written, either upon paper, or upon the 
fleshly tablets of my heart! 

Monday. Bead Psalm 108. My Decision. 
No more will I waver, with half a mind for God 
and half a mind for mammon. My heart is fixed 
for Thee, O God! Thy heart has always been 
fixed for me. How ashamed I am that not until 
now has my heart been wholly yielded to Thy 
great heart! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 109. My Need. 
Men do not know how poor I am, and needy. 
Men cannot know me, or my poverty and need. 
To know that, they must know my soul. But 
Thou dost know, for Thou canst see me within 
and without. While others help me wherein I do 
not need help, Thou canst reach to my ultimate 
need. And Thou canst meet it with perfectness. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 110. My Youth. 
Though I grow old with the swift passing of the 
years, I live with the Ever-young, and His youth 
shall be mine. Thou who didst fashion time, and 
dost hold it as Thy instrument, wilt place me also 
superior to time, so that the dew of youth shall be 
upon me, however the hairs may whiten on my 
head. 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 111. My Covenant. 

The promises are the Lord's. The promises 

are mine. Great and precious promises are they. 

They extend to all blessedness and wealth. And 

171 



WEEK 83. 

they are His and mine. We hold these possessions 
together! 

Friday. Read Psalm 112. My Light. 

Is it dark round about me? The darkness is 
God's promise of light! If I am of His upright 
ones, my darkness is more fortunate than the 
noonday of other men; for that noonday has no 
such promise in it as my midnight happily con- 
tains. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm US. My Day. 
It is the sun-rising. The Lord's name be 
praised! I will go forth into the day with Him, 
for it is His day, and I am His man. It is the 
sun-setting. The Lord's name be praised! I will 
go forth into the night with Him, for it is His 
night, and I am His man. Day unto day uttereth 
this speech, and night unto night showeth this 
knowledge. 



172 



WEEK 84. 

WEEK 84. 
Sunday. Bead Psalm 114. My Model. 
Among the many models that God has given me 
in this world is the great world itself. How it 
obeys its Maker! How it worships Him! How 
the hills rejoice in Him, and the seasons sing His 
praise! Man alone, with reason, with an im- 
mortal soul, turns from the Lord, and abuses His 
benefits. Let me not fall behind the sticks and 
the stones in honoring my God. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 115. My Trust. 
It is so easy to worship idols. It is so easy to 
make some shape with my own hands, and trust 
to what I can see and handle, and fail to trust in 
the great Reality whom I cannot see and handle. 
But that folly shall be far from me. Have I not 
learned that the real things are the invisible 
things of God? 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 116. My Return. 
The Lord does not need any return of His kind- 
ness that I might make. He does not need it, but 
He desires it. He does not need it, but He 
entreats it. And what return can I make except 
the return He wants me to make, that I should 
tell all men what He has done for me? And why 
does He want this? In order that He may have 
still more men to bless! 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 117. My Praise. 
There are so many things for which to praise 
the Lord! I may praise Him for His beauty, for 
His wisdom, for His power. I may praise Him 
for the abounding excellency of His universe. 
But the praise He most wants from my lips is 
praise of what I have experienced, His mercy, 
which is great toward me, and His truth, which 
has been shown to me. For this I will praise 
Him forever. 

173 



WEEK 84. 

Thursday. Read Psalm 118. My Day. 
Every day is a day the Lord has made. Let me 
therefore rejoice and be glad in every day. This 
day is a new gift from God's right hand. For 
me it has been fashioned, fresh in the -divine 
laboratory. And shall I take it as a matter of 
course, or with no word of thanksgiving? 

Friday. Read Psalm 119. My Law. 

I have many possessions, but Thy law shall 
be my chief possession. It is the goodness of all 
my goods, the beauty of all lovely things, the 
power at the base of all my strength. As I am 
true to it, I am true to others, and to myself, and 
to Thee. 

Saturday. Read Psalm 120. My Neighbors. 
What shall I do, if I who love quietness am 
surrounded by lovers of turmoil? Or if my pur- 
suit of wisdom is thwarted by their folly? If the 
contagion of their diseases is upon me, and if 
their clouds overshadow my tent? Ah, then let 
me know the Lord for a neighbor, and let me 
ever dwell in His house! 



174 



WEEK 85. 



W E E K 85. 



Sunday. Bead Psalm 121. My Helper. 
I lift up my eyes to the mountains, to the lordli- 
est thing that God has made ; hut my help comes 
not from them. My help comes from no lordly 
thing, but from the Lord Himself, the Maker of 
all lordly things. He that upholdeth them will 
ever uphold me. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 122. My Goal. 
Many are the ends of the journeys of men, and 
many are the goals they have set up for them- 
selves. Be the goal of my desires, the end of my 
journeys, hut one, O my God! In all my seeking 
let me seek Thee, and in all my finding let me 
find nothing else. 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 123. My Master. 
Not always does the servant look to his master's 
hand ; hut where else shall I look, O God, for the 
direction of my life? Thou canst see the way, 
however far before me. Thou canst protect the 
journey, however beset with foes. If I travel in 
Thy service, I shall know no fear ; and if I travel 
in Thy service I must go Thy way. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 124. My Ally. 
Not so much that I am on the side of God as 
that God is on my side! Oh, glorious condescen- 
sion, that the Lord of heaven and earth will be on 
the side of His creatures! And yet, being what 
He is, where else should He be? Where else 
could He be? 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 125. My Abiding. 
The mountains can be moved, but the Lord who 
made the mountains cannot be moved, He 
touches the earth and it trembles; the hills, and 
they quake. But He Himself never trembles, 

175 



WEEK 85. 

and they that rest in Him shall always be un- 
moved. 

Friday. Read Psalm 126. My Reaping. 

What matter how it was sown, whether in tears 
or with laughter, now that the harvest has come? 
What matter the winter's snow and ice, and the 
delay of the spring, now that the sheaves fill my 
arms? It was mine to sow, and it was mine to 
wait. It is God's to furnish the harvest, and His 
work is better than mine! 

Saturday. Read Psalm 127. My Building. 
I have tried to build without the Lord, and lo! 
a tumbled pile of bricks upon the ground! I 
turned, and built with the Lord, and lo! the walls 
rise fair and firm, and the sky is their roof, and 
eternity is their foundation. 



176 



WEEK 86. 



W E E K 86. 



Sunday. Bead Psalm 128. My Fear. 

There is a boldness that befits a coward, and 
that is boldness in the presence of the Lord! 
There is a fear of which a hero may be proud, and 
that is the fear of the Lord! For that fear is the 
beginning of wisdom. Only a wise man will know 
that fear. 

Monday. Bead Psalm 129. My Stripes. 

My back is furrowed with the blows of afflic- 
tion. Long and bleeding furrows are they, and 
the Lord has sowed in them the most fruitful 
seed! Out of my sorrows has sprung gladness of 
heart. My tears have brought me a harvest of 
joy! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 130. My Watch. 

Ever, through what I see, I am looking forth, 
as ttirough a door, waiting to see something more. 
For what am I looking? Why am I not satisfied 
with what I see? Why is my soul ever on the 
watch? Because Thou hast not yet come, Thou 
who art the rest and joy of my soul. When Thou 
dost come, it will be as the morning to the watch- 
man who has been watching all the night. 

Wednesday- Bead Psalm 181. My Humility. 

It is well for me to know what affairs are too 
great for me. It is well for me not to attempt a 
man's part in matters where I am but a child. 
They only become men who are willing to be 
children. And the noblest men never lose the 
heart of a child. 

Thurs. Bead Psalm 132. My Resting-Place. 

Where God rests, there let me rest. In His 
abiding-place I also will abide ; for He has invited 
me, and my soul has answered Yes. Indeed, 

177 



WEEK 86. 

where else can I find rest except where He finds 

rest? 

Friday. Bead Psalm 133. My Comradeship. 

Hardly am I one man till I am united with 
some other man! Hardly is my mind my own till 
it is exercised in another's behalf, or my body till 
it is worn out for another. And hardly can I 
know the supreme companionship with the Most 
High till 1 know the lower comradeship with His 
creatures. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 134. My Blessings. 
As Abraham was blessed in order that he might 
be a blessing, so let me bless the Lord, and re- 
ceive blessings from His hand! There can be no 
blessing without reflection. Seeds may grow or 
die, but blessing must always bear fruit. 



178 



WEEK 87. 

WEEK 87. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 135. My Idols. 
Am I worshipping silver and gold ? Am I lis- 
tening to things that cannot speak, and praying 
to things that cannot hear? Am I living for 
things at all, and not rather for the Creator of 
things, in whose power they all lie, to give or to 
withhold? 

Monday. Bead Psalm 136. My Mercies. 
The mercies that I have from the Lord endure 
forever. How I need to have the truth repeated, 
and reiterated, and pressed upon my heedless 
mind! The mercy of the Lord endureth forever! 
Though things decay, though friends pass away, 
though fortune fades and beauty vanishes, and 
health and even life are gone, yet the mercy of 
the Lord endureth— forever! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 137. My Exile. 
Am I in Babylon? Yes, often and often! 
When I forget Zion, I am in Babylon, but not 
when I remember Zion. When I weep over the 
fate of Jerusalem, I am not in Babylon ; but I am 
in Babylon when the fate of Christ's Kingdom 
brings no tears nor awakens any fears. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 138. My Answers. 
In the day that I call, God answers me. Not 
the next day or the next week, but in that same 
day. Not always does the answer come such as 
I had expected or at the moment wish, but it al- 
ways comes. For God loves to be petitioned, and 
He loves to answer petitions. Shall He not do 
what He loves to do? 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 139. My Overseer. 

Does the thought of God as my Overseer trouble 
me? Do I seek to hide from Him, to run away 
from Him? Do I resent His absolute knowledge 

179 



WEEK 87. 

of me? Let me commit no longer such useless 
folly. Let me know that there is no safety for 
me anywhere except in the knowledge of God; 
and let me be sure that within the refuge of that 
knowledge it is perfect love. 

Friday. Read Psalm 140. My Preservation. 

I must not be blind to my foes. I must not fall 
into the dangers that surround me. They rear 
their heads against me. I make light of them, 
but they are not light. I build a wall against 
them, but they overtop any wall. God is the 
only wall they cannot pass. 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 1^1. My Reproofs. 
Perhaps my greatest folly is to be angry when 
I am reproved by wise men. No better blessing 
could come into my life, except the driving away 
of the faults that call for their reproof. It is not 
easy for them to reprove me. They would far 
rather not do it, and keep my pleasure in them. 
Ah, let them still have my love, and let it be 
doubled to ward- them! 



180 



WEEK 88. 



W E E K 88. 



Sunday. Bead Psalm 14%. My Prison. 

Verily my soul is in prison. Bring Thou me 
out of it, O Redeemer ! My prisoner is myself. 
Rout him, O Thou Conqueror! My prison walls 
are my selfish desires and passions. Break them 
down, O Thou Captain of my salvation, and let in 
Thy light ! 
Monday. Read Psalm 143. My Dark Places. 

I dwell in dark places, I who am the child of 
the Light. As those that have been long dead, I 
live in my tomb. It is a tomb I have made for 
myself, and no man could make it for me. Yes, 
and no man can release me from it. Stand by 
the door of my tomb, O Christ, and bid me come 
forth! 

Tuesday. Bead Psalm 144- My New Song. 
I have sung the old song so long, the heavens 
must be tired of it! I will learn a new song. I 
will discover new mercies, there are so many of 
them to discover! I will see new beauties in my 
Lord. I will anticipate new joys in heaven. I 
will find new delights upon earth. I will have 
new communion with God. And from it all a 
new song must burst forth. 

Wednesday. Bead Psalm 145. My Desires. 
The Lord made me with desires. It is by my 
wants that I grow. It is by my wants that I have 
enjoyment. Without desire I should be a stick 
or a stone. The Lord is on the side of all just 
desires. He opens His hand and grants them 
freely, because He has opened His hand and in- 
spired them. Why should I fear to present my 
desires to Him? 

Thursday. Bead Psalm 146- My Hope. 
I have but one hope. I do not hope in the 

181 



WEEK 88. 

world or the ordering of it. I do not hope in my- 
self or my powers. I do not hope in my friends, 
however loving. I do not hope in heaven, how- 
ever alluring. I do not hope in justice, or in 
truth, or in any other abstraction. My hope is in 
the Lord my God, the Creator of the world, the 
Ruler of heaven, the Arbiter of justice, and the 
Fount of truth! 

Friday. Read Psalm 147. My Upholding. 

Am 1 among those whom the Lord upholds, or 
those whom He casts down to the ground? Am 
I downcast or exultant? Is my head held high 
in happiness, or bent in gloom? Does darkness 
or light fill my eyeballs? By its fruits I shall 
know it, this upholding from the Lord! 

Saturday. Bead Psalm 148. My Concert. 
How am I joining the universal praise of na- 
ture? The morning stars sing together. The 
grass smiles it to the trees, and the trees to the 
sky. The birds carol it, and the wind trumpets 
it, and the sea murmurs its undertone. Am I 
alone silent amid this singing host? 



182 



WEEK 89. 

WEEK 89. 

Sunday. Bead Psalm 149. My Sword. 
How shall the praise of the Lord be a sword in 
my hand? It shall drive out, as an armed war- 
rior, my doubts and gloom, and the doubts and 
gloom of those that hear me. It shall smite fear 
to the earth, and all worries. It shall slay de- 
spair. It shall cleave a way through the foes 
that most persistently oppose my progress, the 
spiritual wickedness in high places! 

Monday. Bead Psalm ISO. My Praise. 
How can I ever praise the Lord according to 
His excellent greatness? My praise is so feeble, 
and His greatness is so majestic! Ah, for this, as 
for all duties and delights, His is the power at 
my command. He will give me words, even for 
the praise of Himself. 

Tuesday. Bead Proverbs 1. My Fear. 
Have I the fear of the Lord,, which is the begin- 
ning of the knowledge of the Lord? There is a 
time when wisdom may be found, and there is a 
time when it is too late to find»her. Have I fear 
of that time? It is well to love the Lord for Him- 
self, but have I even begun to fear the fate of 
those that do not love the Lord? 

Wednesday. Bead Proverbs 2. My Search. 
There are so many things for which I search 
more eagerly than for wisdom! For the appear- 
ance of wisdom, perhaps, or the rewards of wis- 
dom, the friends and peace and power that wis- 
dom will give, rather than wisdom herself. But 
wisdom will be sought for herself, and no other- 
wise will she be found. 

Thursday. Bead Proverbs 3. My Necklace. 

The law of the Lord is not my law except as I 
carry it with me. If it is only a book at home, or 

183 



WEEK 89. 

a sermon on Sunday, it is not my law. Only 
what I myself have written of the book, inscrib- 
ing it upon the tablet of the heart, binding it 
about my neck, is my book, and my law. 

Friday. Bead Proverbs 4> My Exaltation. 
I am exalted by that which I exalt. If I exalt 
wisdom, she will exalt me. If I exalt unwisdom, 
she will lift me beside her upon her shameful 
throne. My own crown is a duplicate of the 
crown I place upon the head of my ideal. 

Saturday. Bead Proverbs 5. My Home. 
That I may find the Lord in my home, let me 
not depart from Him outside my home. Where 
my love is, there is my home ; let it be in such 
places as I can own before God and man. Be 
Thou, O Lord of love, the Lord of my love and of 
my home! 



184 



WEEK 90. 

WEEK 90. 

Sunday. Bead Proverbs 6. My Sloth. 

How is my sluggishness rebuked by the pro- 
digious industry of nature! For am not" I a part 
of nature ? How continually do all things work, 
—all but man! How peacefully do all things 
work— all but man! God of the ant, teach me 
Thy ways, and give me of Thy strength! 

Monday. Bead Proverbs 7. My Kindred. 

Can I call Wisdom my sister, and Understand- 
ing my kinswoman ? Am I well acquainted with 
them ? Do they live in the home of my soul ? Do 
they own me of their family ? Better that than 
to be of the family of any king. Better that than 
to sit at the table of any great man. 

Tuesday. Bead Proverbs 8. My Rubies. 

A great ruby is the king of gems, but wisdom is 
more precious than all rubies. To know a matter 
is a diamond, but so to know it as to act upon it is 
a ruby. No wealth is more portable than rubies, 
except wisdom ; but that needs not even a bag. 
Oh, with all my getting let me get understanding! 

Wednesday. Bead Proverbs 9. My Eeproofs. 

A fool will slap the mouth that reproves him, 
but a wise man will kiss it, and bless it. What do 
I say inwardly, when I am wisely reproved ? It 
is not what I say outwardly, but the words of my 
heart. Who knows the sacrifice my reprover is 
making ? And shall I receive him with a sneer ? 

Thursday. Bead Proverbs 10. My Tongue. 
Into how many pits hast thou led me, O thou 
foolish tongue ! What losses hast thou caused me, 
what shame hast thou brought me, how hast thou 
been my foe! All that thou hast given me is less 
than what thou hast taken from me, O foolish 
tongue! 

185 



WEEK 90. 

Friday. Bead Proverbs 11. My Liberality. 

Far from me be the folly of a wasteful hoarding ! 
Let me learn the thrift of spending wisely, the 
prudence of liberality ! And yet I shall not give 
because it is prudent, because it is to be given 
to me again, for there is no giving in that. 

Saturday. Bead Proverbs 12. My Way. 

Surely my way is wise in my own eyes, or I 
would not take it; and must I not take the way 
that seems wise ? Yes, but I can correct my see- 
ing by the seeing of others. I can ask those that 
have traversed my way and can report upon it. I 
must go my way, but I can make my way the way 
of the wise. 



186 



WEEK 91. 

WEEK 91. 

Sunday. Read Proverbs 13. My Poverty. 
Every dollar I gain is a loss to me, if it is 
gained by injustice, or by the neglect of some- 
thing higher than dollars. Every dollar I lose is 
a gain to me, if it is lost for the sake of something 
higher than dollars. Lord of all wealth, teach 
my inmost soul what is true riches! 

Monday. Read Proverbs 14. My Judgment. 
Let me not forget that the ways that men take 
seem right to them, yet many of them are the 
ways of death. Let me beware lest that be true 
of me. It is no commendation of a way that it 
seem right to me, but that it seems right to Him 
who is the Way. 

Tuesday. Read Proverbs 15. My Feast. 

If a cheerful heart is a continual feast, how 
should the Christian be fed ! I have the Bread of 
life. I have the Water of life. I have the Joy of 
life. I have the Life Himself! To be morose 
would be a sin against all the past and all the 
present and all the future. 

Wed. Read Proverbs 16. My Pride. 

Not only does a haughty spirit go before a fall; 
a haughty spirit is a fall. Pride is ruin. It pre- 
vents increase of wisdom, and is in itself a folly. 
For what have I that has not been given me? 

Thurs. Read Proverbs 17. My Friendship. 
Am I a fair-weather friend? Or am I a friend 
for all times? Am I a friend when I can be 
helped, but not when I should give help? Is my 
friendship a matter of advantage and not of sacri- 
fice? Ah, then it is not a matter of advantage! 
Ah, then it misses the chief delights and main 
benefits of friendship! 

187 



WEEK 91. 

Friday. Read Proverbs IS. My Tongue. 
Death and life are in the power of my tongue. 
With it I can slay my soul. With it I can slay 
the souls of others. And with it I can save my 
soul, when I call upon the Lord ; or save the 
souls of others, when I persuade them to do the 
same. Oh, to become skilled in the use of this 
great instrument! 

Saturday. Read Proverbs 19. My Lies. 
Sure as the reward of truth, that never fails, is 
the punishment of falsehood. Sure as the dis- 
closure of truth, that is inevitable, is the dis- 
covery of a lie. And the lie may be spoken or 
unspoken, thought or acted, worked out in deed 
or by the absence of deed or word ; yet in all its 
forms a lie is a lie. 



188 



WEEK 92. 

WEEK 92. 

Sunday. Read Proverbs 20. My Sleep. 

There is a sleep of the body, that tends to 
poverty of the body ; and there is a sleep of the 
soul, that tends to poverty of the soul. There are 
open eyes, that satisfy with bread, and the soul 
has open eyes, that also satisfy the soul. Lord 
God, grant me this vision! 

Monday. Read Proverbs 21. My Way. 

Oh, the fatal egotism of my heart! When shall 
I learn that not every way of mine is right, not 
every thought of mine is wise? that my ways are 
usually not right and my thoughts are unwise? 
that my only safety is in taking God's ways and 
my only wisdom in thinking God's thoughts? 

Tuesday. Read Proverbs 22. My Diligence. 

Let me not care to stand before kings, but let 
me care to be diligent in business. Let me seek 
the inner royalty of industry, the crown of achieve- 
ment. Be grace to me and strength, O God, and 
advance me in Thy presence. Then shall I 
inevitably be advanced in the presence of men. 

Wednesday. Read Proverbs 23. My Envy. 
The envy that looks longingly after any fortune 
of a sinner is next door to his sin itself. One 
lot only is to be envied : it is his who is in the way 
of the Lord all the day long. Surely he is among 
the favored of the earth, as he is one day to be 
among the favored in heaven. 

Thursday. Read Proverbs 24. My Building. 
Not with wood and nails, not with stone and 
brick and mortar, but with wisdom and under- 
standing and knowledge! Oh, Thou only Wise, 
help me to be a worthy carpenter, a mason that 
needeth not to be ashamed! So shall I dwell in 
my house happily. 

189 



WEEK 92. 

Friday. Bead Proverbs 25. My Fruit. 

Let my tongue be a godly tree, and the fruit 
therefrom shall be golden ! In baskets of silver 
shall men gather it, and do it high honor. But let 
my tongue be a crabbed tree, and its fruit shali 
rot uncared for on the ground. 

Saturday. Bead Proverbs 26. My Lions. 

When I look through the window of unwilling- 
ness, how are the hens magnified to hyenas and 
the gnats to lions! Through the door of sloth I 
hear the street full of roarings. To the slippers 
of idleness, ah, how sharp are the pebbles in the 
road! 



190 



WEEK 93. 

WEEK 93. 

Sunday. Read Proverbs 27. My Wounds. 

When I am sore and smitten, when my flesh 
burns and smarts and my soul is pierced with 
many sorrows, let me stop and consider whence 
these come, whether from an enemy or a friend. 
And if the latter, especially if the Friend is One 
that never fails in wisdom or in love, let me 
count my wounds my noblest wealth. 

Monday. Bead Proverbs 28. My Flight. 
Hurry-skurry, panting, weary to the death, 
how I press my flight from— nothing! I run from 
a shadow and retreat before a waving leaf. It is 
my cowardly heart that runs away, and not my 
obedient legs. O Lord, strengthen my soul! 

Tues. Read Prov. 29. My Thoughtfulness. 

When shall I know that words are deeds? that 
idle words are a wandering in the wilderness, 
that stinging words are weapons, that foolish 
words are a clown's attire? Let me not set 
guards everywhere else, but fail to set a guard 
over my tongue! 

Wednesday. Read Prov. 30. My Content. 
It requires strength and a firm will to get a lit- 
tle wealth, but greater strength and a firmer will 
to be satisfied with a little wealth. When one 
can say, " Enough," one can say any wise word, 
one can address any assembly! 

Thursday. Read Proverbs 31. My Speech. 
It is not enough to open my hands for the poor, 
if I do not also open my mouth. They need my 
championing words more than my too-ready weap- 
ons. If the righteous would all speak for the op- 
pressed, righteousness would be done them with- 
out more ado. 

191 



WEEK 93. 

Friday. Read Ecclesiastes 1. My Striving. 

There is a wisdom that is grief; but there is 
also a wisdom that is joy forever. There is an 
increase of knowledge that increases sorrow; 
hut there is a growth of wisdom that is a growth 
in blessedness. Be mine the search for the true 
wisdom, the striving after the genuine joy. 

Saturday. Read Ecclesiastes 2 . My Pleasure. 
It is of no avail that I strive to please myself. 
There is no pleasing of myself. That is a maw 
that is never satisfied, a gulf that is never filled. 
My pleasure is found only when I do not seek it, 
but seek instead the joy of others and the good 
pleasure of my God. 



193 



WEEK 94. 



WEEK 94. 



Sunday. Bead Ecclesiastes S. My Seasons. 

I would have a well-ordered life, O Ttiou God 
of beautiful order! I would imitate the steady 
revolving of Thy years. I would do this hour the 
work of this hour, that next hour I may do that 
hour's work. And so I would put myself in work- 
harmony with Thee. 

Monday. Bead Eccl. 4- My Quietness. 
Let me not strive beyond peace. If I cannot 
have two handfuls with quietness, let me have 
one handful, and be at rest. For why should I 
toil after discomfort? and why should I strive to 
be distressed? 

Tuesday. Bead Ecclesiastes 5. My Increase. 
When my goods increase beyond my power to 
enjoy them, then further increase is a suicide of 
happiness, and a sinful greed. Day by day let 
me look to my use of what I have ; and if I have 
it but do not use it, let me count it a gain to give 
it away. 

Wednesday. Bead Eccl. 6. My Fulness. 
What profit if my barns burst with grain, when 
my soul is not filled with good? What profit all 
manner of knowledge, if I also know myself to be 
miserable? What profit the praise of men, if I 
pity myself? I will seek the inner fulness, the 
satisfaction of the soul. 

Thursday. Bead Eccl. 7. My Sorrow. 
When is sorrow better than laughter? When 
it ends in laughter. For as granite is the best 
basis of a house, so the best foundation of joy is 
not the sand tossed up by the flashing waves, but 
the rock that has been fused in the volcanic fur- 
nace of affliction. Thus, O God, by whatever 

193 



WEEK 94. 

stress of life, wilt Thou found my house upon the 
living rock. 

Friday. Read Ecclesiastes 8. My Face. 

What countenance am I turning upon the 
world? Does wisdom make my face to shine, or 
does unwisdom darken it? Am I goodly to look 
upon, with the beauty that is deeper than color 
and form, and more enduring than any flesh? 

Saturday. Read Ecclesiastes 9. My Might. 

I know that an energetic deed has grace and 
glory, but a half-hearted deed is clumsy and of 
little worth. I know this, yet I continue with 
half my heart in many things. Let me withdraw 
myself from all into which I cannot pour myself. 
Let me do with my might what my hands find to 
do. 



194 



WEEK 95. 

WEEK 95. 

Sunday. Bead Eccl. 10. My Confession. 

Well is it said, if I am a fool, I shall tell every 
one of it! Murder will out, and so will folly. 
There is no hiding of understanding; but also, 
there is no hiding, of a lack of understanding. 
So let me live in the remembrance that charactei 
is confession. 

Monday. Bead Eccl. 11. My Benefactions. 

What is less likely than that bread, cast on the 
waters, will return again ? and what is more 
sure? For the waves of God's providence are 
refluent ever, and the good we scatter comes 
surely back to us. So let me never fear to spend 
myself for others. 

Tuesday. Bead Ecclesiastes 12. My Duty. 
My duty is twofold, and only twofold. I am to 
fear and to keep. I am to fear that alone which 
should be feared, and all else I am to disregard ; 
and I am to keep that alone which is worth keep- 
ing, all else being thrown away. What I am to 
fear, then, is God ; and what I am to keep is God's 
commandments. 

Wed. Bead Song of Songs 1. My Vineyard. 
Oh, the pity of it, to keep another man's vine- 
yard, but not my own! to preach to others, but 
be a castaway! to toil for others, but leave my 
task undone, and sing for the wide world, but 
let my song go unsung! My life shall begin at 
home. Yes, my life shall begin at home, that 
thus it may truly go abroad. 

Thursday. Bead Song of Songs 2. My Foxes. 
What though the foxes are little, if they spoil 
the vines? What though the fault is slight, if it 
is ruining my life ? What is little, anyway, and 
what is great, when it comes to that ? 

195 



WEEK 95. 

Friday. Read Song of Songs 3, My Cushion, 

Oh, may my seat be "paved with love," like 
the seat of King Solomon! Love be all the fur- 
nishings of my chair of ease! In what shop shall 
I buy it ? What artificer will fashion it for me ? 
It is made by Master Thoughtfulness, and it is 
sold in the shop of Pain ! 

Sat. Read Song of Songs 4- My Garden. 
Is my life a garden shut up, a fountain sealed ? 
To what avail are the waters in the pipe, or the 
flowers behind the wall ? Bid thy springs flow 
freely, O soul, and invite all men to the fragrance 
of thy blossoming. 



196 



WEEK 96. 

W E E K 96. 

Sun. Read Song of Songs 5. My Wakefulness. 

Though I sleep, grant me, O Lord, the wakeful 
heart. May I be ever ready for Thy tasks, of love, 
of helpfulness, of compassion. When the eyes of 
my body close, let me never close the eyes of my 
soul. 

Mon. Read Song of Songs 6. My Fealty. 

I am his who loves me, and he is mine. There 
are no possessions in love, for love is all posses- 
sion! I will give myself to him who gives him- 
self to me. Yea, I will give myself first to him, in 
the bare hope that he will give himself to me! 

Tues. Read Song of Songs 7. My Fruits. 

It is good to lay up fruits, but only when they 
are stored for love. Orchards are good, and 
vineyards, and gardens, but only when two eat 
of the apples and press the grapes and wander 
among the flowers. Let me till no ground for 
myself. 

Wed. Read Song of Songs 8, My Permanence. 

If I would ally myself to deathlessness, I must 
ally myself to love. If I would place myself be- 
yond the reach of the waters of oblivion, I must 
love, I must love greatly. Everything is fleeting 
but love, and love will endure forever. 

Thursday. Read Isaiah 1. My Whiteness. 

My sins are as scarlet, but they are to be white 
as snow. My soul is ugly as blood, but it is to be 
beautiful as the soft garment of winter. My sins 
speak of wounds, but they shall be healed ; and 
of turmoil, but over it all is to steal the quietness 
of the snow. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 2. My Pride. 

How am I preparing for the day when the Lord 

197 



WEEK 96. 

alone shall be exalted? If I am exalting myself; 
though only to myself, what a fall am I preparing 
for my spirit! Oh, there is no safety, no comfort, 
no measure of any peace, but in humility! 

Saturday. Read Isaiah 3. My Food. 

Surely I shall eat the fruit of my doings. Will it 
be bitter or sweet in my mouth, apples of New 
England or apples of Sodom? What I ate to-day, 
of joy or sorrow, I prepared yesterday and yester- 
year. I gathered the materials, I fashioned them, 
I cooked them. How does the food taste? And 
do I want more of it? 



198 



WEEK 97. 



. W E E K 97. 



Sunday. Read Isaiah 4. My Covert. 

After the purification, the peace! After the 
purging, the shadow from the heat and the cov- 
ert from the storm! And let me not expect any- 
thing except heat and storm till I am cleansed 
from my sin, and my heart is made pure within 
me. 

Monday. Read Isaiah 5. My Wild Grapes. 

Surely God has tended me, as a fruitful vine- 
yard should be tended. He has tilled my soil, 
He has watered it from the clouds, He has shone 
upon it with the sun. Nothing has failed, that 
should bring forth fruit; and what worthy fruit 
has come from the vineyard of my soul? Is not 
God, alas! a disappointed husbandman? 

Tuesday. Read Isaiah 6. My Lips. 

A coal from Thy altar, O Lord of Speech! Lay 
it upon my lips, though it sear them. Cleanse 
them, though as by fire! Let them know the 
quiver of Thy righteousness, the stress of Thy 
purity; and let them henceforth know nothing 
that is common or unclean. 

Wednesday. Read Isaiah 7. My Confidence. 

What though kings set themselves against me, 
strong men of the earth and powers of the air? 
My allies fill the firmament, my allies rise from 
every dust grain. I shall not fear, nor shall my 
heart be faint. Let them fear that oppose the 
Lord's will, and let their hearts justly faint 
within them. 

Thursday. Read Isaiah 8. My Testimony. 
Against the clamor of evil men, and all the 
bluster of the world, I will set Thy law, O God, 
and Thy testimony, O my King! It is my law 
also ; therefore it is a testimony against them. 

199 



WEEK 97. 

Friday. Bead Isaiah 9. My Light. 

A great Light, for a great darkness! I had 
dwelt in the one, and now I walk in the other. I 
had known the fear, and now my joy is increased ; 
and the yoke, but now I walk in freedom. For 
unto me, yea, unto all men, has been born the 
Wonderful Child. 

Saturday. Read Isaiah 10. My Visitation. 
The day of visitation ! of desolation, and search- 
ing, and dismay! What shall I do in that day? 
Whither shall I flee in that day? Ah, whither 
but to the Source of the desolation, the Sun whose 
burning shrivels the chaff? For back of His 
burning, to those who love Him, there is coolness 
and there is peace. 



200 



WEEK 98. 

WEEK 98. 

Sunday. Read Isaiah 11, My Judge. 

He shall not judge me after what He sees in 
me, nor after what He hears of me. His shall 
not be the spirit of revenge, hut the spirit of un- 
derstanding. He shall see what I have poorly 
tried to do, and shall cover with it the paltry 
thing I have done. 

Monday. Read Isaiah 12. My Salvation. 
Not in myself is my trust. I do not trust my- 
self even for trusting. The Lord is my strength, 
even to reach to Him for strength. The Lord is 
my song, even to the impulse for singing. And 
thus has the Lord become my salvation. 

Tuesday. Read Isaiah IS, My Dismay. 
Let my fear be fixed upon the right things. I 
who fear the penalty, let me dread the sin. I 
who dread the dungeon, let me rather dread the 
dungeon's deed. Care of matches is wiser than 
care of fire, and the cleansing of sewers than the 
healing of plagues. 

Wednesday. Read Isaiah 14* My Fall. 
Though I were a chief one of the earth, though 
my throne were on high, yea, though I were as 
the day star, son of the morning, yet if I contemn 
the Most High, a hand shall reach up and take 
me, and hurl me to the depths. For those that 
despise the Lord, there is nothing but fall. 

Thursday. Read Isaiah 15 . My Sackcloth. 
When shall I change my sackcloth for a wed- 
ding garment, my spirit of heaviness for gar- 
ments of praise? When I clothe myself with 
Thee, Thou Soul of all beauty. When I do Thy 
will, Thou Heart of ail righteousness. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 16. My Prevailing. 
I am not heard for my words. Though I mount 

201 



WEEK 98. 

to the high places of petition, though I go to my 
sanctuary and pray with anguish ; if I carry not 
with me an obedient soul, I shall not prevail. 
For as the answer to prayer is in Thy hands, so 
it is also in my hands ; in my hands, as they seek 
to do Thy will. 

Saturday. Read Isaiah 17. My Looking. 
Whither is the gaze of my soul, and whence do 
I expect my help? Is it one thing before men, 
and another in my heart ? Is it one thing as I 
fancy it, and quite another thing in reality? 
What is the true hope on which I lean ? Is it the 
rock, or a reed? 



202 



WEEK 99. 



WEEK 99. 



Sunday. Read Isaiah 18. My Hearing. 
An ensign is lifted cp on the mountains. Am I 
looking to it? A trumpet is blown with a great 
voice. Are my ears open to it? When the Lord 
speaks, let all men be silent. Let me clear my 
ears and my spirit for that hearing alone. 

Monday. Bead Isaiah 19. My Perverseness. 
If the Lord has mingled in my life a spirit of 
perverseness, it is I that have opened a way for 
it, and invited it in. I have trained myself in it, 
and have not fought against it. If I turn and 
light against it, all of God will be upon my side. 

Tuesday. Read Isaiah 20. My Shame. 
How do my sins tear from me every garment, 
the cioak of honor, the coat of respect, the inner 
raiment of love! I go naked before my foes and 
ashamed before my friends. And Thou only 
canst clothe me again, O Christ; and the robe of 
Thy righteousness alone can cover me. 

Wednesday. Read Isaiah 21. My Watch. 
"What of the night?" they will cry to me. 
They whom God has given me to guard, they 
whose reliance is in me. " What of the night?" 
they will ask, "and what of the day?" My an- 
swer must not be mockery. True warning must 
I utter, peril of storjn, pleading for retreat, 
" Turn from the ways of the storm, and find a 
refuge!" 

Thursday. Read Isaiah 22. My Keys. 
If I am clothed with the Lord's robe, and 
strengthened with His strength, then His key 
shall be laid upon my shoulder ; I shall open and 
shut, and none shall shut and open. My author- 
ity shall be His, for I am His, and all His author- 
ity shall be mine, for He is mine, forever. 

203 



WEEK 99. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 23. My Oblivion. 
Though I be exalted, if I exalt not the Lord, 
how shall I be laid low! Though I sing many 
songs, if I forget to sing of the Lord, how shall I 
and my songs be forgotten! How shall my mer- 
chandise be transferred to others, and my beau- 
tiful attire to others, and I myself be forgotten! 

Saturday. Bead Isaiah 24. My Mirth. 
Though I shake the clusters on high and press 
the grapes into goblets, though I shout with the 
shouters and hold the centre of the feast, yet if 
my heart is empty of God, it shall all be emptied 
out; and if my soul dishonors the Lord, it shall 
loathe all other joys. 



204 



WEEK 100. 

WEEK 100. 

Sunday. Bead Isaiah 25. My Tears. 

There will come a time when my face will say 
good-by to tears forever, when they will be re- 
membered only as a dream of the past, when 
the very memory of them will be forgotten! Not 
when philosophy wipes them away; not when my 
will power wipes them away; not when pleasure 
wipes them away; but when the Lord God lays 
His hand upon my face in love. 

Monday. Bead Isaiah 26. My Stay. 

There is a perfect peace. Not hereafter, but 
now. Not for the few, but for all men, for me. 
It is a perfect peace. Not a fret is left, nor a 
fear. Not a single smallest cloud mars its sky. 
It is perfect, because it is God, and my mind is 
stayed on Him. 

Tuesday. Bead Isaiah 27. My Keeping. 
I am a watered vineyard, watered every mo- 
ment. I am a kept vineyard, kept night and 
day. No thief shall break in, no enemy shall cut 
and harm. I am a vineyard, and He who made 
ail vines is my Husbandman. 

Wednesday. Bead Isaiah 28. My Diadem. 

If I am to have a crown of glory, it is chosen. 
If I am to have a diadem of beauty, it is selected. 
The Lord shall be my crown of glory and my dia- 
dem of beauty. He shall flash from my head, He 
shall shine in my eyes, and His words shall fall 
as diamonds from my mouth. 

Thursday. Bead Isaiah 29. My Reversals. 

Verily my living continually turns things up- 
side down! I reckon God as a man and men as 
gods. I count the transient as permanent, and 
the eternal things as matters of a moment. 



205 



WEEK 100. 

When shall I see clearly? and when shall I know 
things as they are? 

Friday. Read Isaiah SO. My Wall 

Is my life like a breached wall, a high wall 
broken, that totters, ready to fall? Is it doomed 
to shattering, that no piece of it shall be found? 
There are such lives, and they do not know it, 
though they might know their sin. Lord, forbid 
that such a life should be mine! 

Saturday. Read Isaiah 31. My Trust. 
It is woe to me, if I trust in man or beast or 
motionless thing, and not in the Creator of all 
these, who holds them all at the turning of a finger. 
If I trust in them, I lean upon bubbles ; if I trust 
in Him, I rest upon the Kock. 



206 



WEEK 101. 



WEEK 101, 



Sunday. Bead Isaiah 32. My Sowing. 

Beside all waters! Oh, to win the Lord's bless- 
ing for such sowing! Oh, for the full seed-basket, 
and the ready hand ! The plough is waiting, and 
the ox. Yes, and mouths are waiting, open and 
hungry. Oh, for grace to sow beside all waters! 

Monday. Read Isaiah 33. My Stability. 

If my times are the times of the Lord, in my 
times shall there be stability. No war and the 
famine of war, no folly and the uncertainty of 
folly, but wisdom and righteousness, and abun- 
dance therewith. For the Lord is good, and all 
good things are his who Is the Lord's. 

Tuesday. Bead Isaiah 34* My Reading. 
I will seek me out the book of the Lord, and 
read. I will not pass over any page or any para- 
graph. I will give heed to every syllable. I 
will begin at the first page, and continue even to 
the end, and there is no end! I will read as fast 
as the Lord turns the pages. 

Wednesday. Bead Isaiah 35. My Knees. 
When I totter upon my way, when my strength 
fails under me, when fear takes hold of my knees 
and terror turns my feet backward, O confirm my 
faith, my God, in that evil hour! Let me fall 
upon my feeble knees, and let my prayers reach 
up into Thy power. 

Thursday. Bead Isaiah 36. My Answer. 
When the boasters brag against the Lord, when 
worldlings mock the Most High, when His foes 
cry Aha and flirt their fingers in the faces of His 
followers, how shall I reply! By the silent of in- 
different contempt. By the scorn that will not 
waste a word upon their emptiness. 

207 



WEEK 101. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 87. My Defence. 

I have an armor; it is prayer. I have a high 
tower; it is prayer. I have a thick wall; it is 
prayer. I have munitions of war; they are 
prayers. Let the enemy rush against me. Let 
them be as many as the leaves on the trees. My 
defence shall be one, a single prayer; and I shall 
need no more. 

Saturday. Bead Isaiah 38. My Token. 

God speaks to me, as to Hezekiah. No longer 
in the backward shadow, but in the forward dial. 
In the ordered courses of nature, and no longer 
in nature's reversals. But it is the same God, 
and He is the token, in whatever form. 



208 



WEEK 102. 

WEEK 102. 

Sunday. Read Isaiah 39. My Selfishness. 
If there is peace in my day, to be heedless of 
war to come,— what is that but~ruin of soul? To 
be satisfied and sleek, so long as harm comes not 
nigh me,— what is that but to receive and enter- 
tain the chief of harms? 

Monday. Bead Isaiah 40. My Tidings. 
The Lord has given to my feet an errand and 
to my mouth an evangel. Woe to my feet if they 
run not and to my mouth if it cries not aloud! 
Woe to my heart if it hastes not along the high- 
way, and to my hands if they do not prepare the 
highway for a way for my good tidings! 

Tues. Read Isaiah 41* My Encouragement. 
For what have I good courage, but that others 
also may have it? Why am I strong, but that 
others may cease to be weak? Why have I a 
voice, but to say to my brother, " Be of good 
courage"? Yea, why am I living at all, but to 
help some one else to live? 

Wednesday. Head Isaiah 4%* My Blindness. 
I know not my way. It lies all dark before me, 
a place of groping, a road of stretched-out hands. 
But I have a Guide. While He brings me where 
1 would go, what care I how He brings me? 
While He makes darkness light before me, and 
crooked places straight, what care I how dark or 
crooked they may be? 

Thursday. Read Isaiah 43* My Name. 
Since God has called me by my name, it is a 
new name altogether. It would be a new name, 
for the honor and glory of it, if pronounced by 
any earthly king. How much more when pro- 
nounced by the King of kings! Surely I cannot be 
less than His, with my fair new name, forever! 

209 



WEEK 102. 

Friday. Bead Isaiah 4-4- My Confirmation. 
The same Lord that frustrates the designs of 
the proud, will confirm the word of His servants. 
If I speak the emptiness of human wisdom, God 
will bring to naught both it and me. If I speak 
the words that God's wisdom teaches, they shall 
stand when all the hills are vapor. 

Saturday. Bead Isaiah 4-5. My Striving. 
Do I set myself against the Almighty? Do I 
give His promises the lie and by my life proclaim 
His futility? Shall the creature set at naught 
the Creator, the potsherd mock the potter? 
What is all this but the very crown of folly? 



210 



WEEK 103. 

WEEK 103. 

Sunday. Read Isaiah 46. My Counsel. 
If God be my counsellor, my counsel shall stand. 
If God conduct my affairs, they shall not wander 
into failure. If God be the Man of my counsel, 
all men shall enter into my plans and accomplish 
my purposes. Let me not waver from His ways. 

Monday. Read Isaiah 4? - My Haughtiness. 
All my boastings are vain, and all my confi- 
dence, if my life lacks love. None of my posses- 
sions shall save me, if I have not that possession. 
Where is my help, in which I relied? For love 
alone can summon aid in sore distress. 

Tuesday. Read Isaiah 48. My Peace. 
Like a river flowing softly, and all Its banks are 
full; like the sea, abundant in its waters; so had 
been my peace and my righteousness, if I had 
obeyed. So, with no lack and no doubt, if I had 
obeyed. Alas, for the proving of the truth that 
there is no peace, no smallest rivulet of peace, to 
the wicked! 

Wednesday. Read Isaiah 49> My Memorial. 
I, even I, am graven upon God's hands! There 
upon His palms has He written my name, to re- 
member me forever. Day by day He bears me in 
mind, and in the night He never forgets me. 
And I would forget Him! 

Thursday. Read Isaiah SO. My Tongue. 
If there are thoughts of wisdom in my brain, if 
there are words of wisdom on my tongue, they 
are not for my brain or for my tongue. There, 
they would mildew. There, they would inwardly 
corrupt. They are for leaping forth. They are 
for sustaining the weary. They are for enlight- 
ening the world* 

211 



WEEK 103. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 51. My Origin. 

1 am of the air ; let me never forget that I was 
of the rock. I am of the sunshine ; let me remem- 
ber that I was of the darkness of the pit. It is so 
easy to forget. It is so easy to be ungrateful. 

Saturday. Bead Isaiah 52. My Purity. 
I bear the vessels of the Lord. Were it only 
the name. of the Lord, that great thing I bear. 
And shall 1 hold it aloft, shining in beauty, radi- 
ant with silver and gold, and my hands that hold 
it to gaze are foul with mire? I must not even 
touch an unclean thing, 1 that bear this vessel of 
the Lord. 



212 



WEEK 104. 



WEEK 104. 



Sunday. Bead Isaiah 53. My Saviour. 
He was a man of sorrows, that I might be a 
man of joy. He was wounded and heavy laden, 
that I might walk unburdened and unhurt. He 
was dumb that I might speak. He was smitten 
that I might be healed. Ah, shall He not see of 
the travail of His soul, and be satisfied in me? 

Monday. Bead Isaiah 54. My Enlargement. 
The Lord did not make me for a narrow tent! 
He bids me extend the canvas, spare not, lengthen 
the cords, and strengthen the stakes. He bids 
me stretch forth my life, build me more stately 
temples for my soul. And I still live in littleness! 

Tuesday. Bead Isaiah 55. My Thoughts. 

Surely God's ways are not my ways nor His 
thoughts my thoughts. Heaven-high above my 
ways and thoughts are His, But mine may rise 
into His. From the earth into His heavens, from 
smallness into largeness, and from futility into 
power and peace. 

Wednesday. Bead Isaiah 56. My Sabbaths. 

The crown of . the week shall rest upon my 
head. The flower of the week shall be fragrant 
upon my bosom. The climax of the week shall 
round out my living. This day that the Lord 
loves shall be loved by me also, and shall enter 
into the strength of my soul. 

Thursday. Bead Isaiah 57. My Sea. 

My life is like a sea. Is it a troubled sea, or a 
sea at rest? Do its waters cast up mire and dirt, 
or shells of beauty and food for service? Are its 
waters fresh or turbid? Oh, enter Thou into the 
sea of my life, God of purity and power! 

213 



WEEK 104. 

Friday. Read Isaiah 68. My Fast. 

Endow all my religion, O God, with reality. Let 
my fastings be clothed with beauty and gar- 
landed with joy,— beauty of brightened eyes, joy 
of comforted lives. Let my religion reach out- 
ward as well as upward. So shall it be inward as 
well. 

Saturday. Read Isaiah 59. My Helper, 
Do I think that God is crippled? Do 1 deem 
that God is deaf? Shall He that fashioned the 
hand be unready to help? He that formed the 
ear, shall He not hear? Hush your foolish com- 
plainings, O my soul. What is it but impiety to 
doubt the answering of prayer? 



214 



WEEK 105. 

WEEK 105. 

Sunday. Bead Isaiah 60. My Glory. 

My light has come; my glory has risen upon 
me; the shining of its splendor is about my head, 
its radiance attends my path. Men see it, and 
rejoice. I see it, and wonder. It is all because I 
have opened my door, and the Lord of Glory has 
entered in. 

Monday. Bead Isaiah 61. My Preaching. 
Because there is a good tidings, it is mine to 
proclaim it. Because there is a vengeance, it is 
mine to warn of it. Because there is a comfort, 
it is mine to give it. Because there are priests of 
the Lord, it is mine to be called by that name. 
Mine, and all men's. 

Tuesday. Bead Isaiah 62. My Watch. 
I can see the evil afar. The good also I can 
see afar. Blessed be God, that my eyes are keen, 
that the horror of great darkness is not upon 
them. And what shall I do with these seeing 
eyes? Shall I not forth upon the walls? Shall I 
not bear witness of the things I see? Shall I not 
justify the generous Giver? 

Wed. Bead Isaiah 63. My Winepress. 
There is One that has trodden the winepress 
alone; but I need never do it. He is ever my 
partner, though all men fail me. Forth bursts 
the red flood, the wine is made abundantly, labor 
is transformed into singing, because I do not 
tread the winepress alone. 

Thursday. Bead Isaiah 64. My Fading. 
Yes, we all fade as a leaf, until we lie in the 
ground. But not all leaves fade in the same way. 
Some moulder in unsightly blotches. Some curl 
up and wither. And some, in a splendor of gold 

215 



WEEK 105. 

and crimson, flame for days upon the branch, be- 
fore they form upon the ground a carpet of glory. 
That last be my fading, O God of the leaf, when 
my time comes to fall from the tree of mortality. 

Friday. Bead Isaiah 65. ' My Answer. 
I am quick to hear the call of men, were a ruler 
to call, or a rich man, a famous man, or the voice 
of the people. I am quick to call, and alert to 
answer. Shall I be laggard when the Lord calls 
me, He that made men, He beneath whose finger 
the mightiest of earth are as insects? 

Saturday. Bead Isaiah 66. My Comfort. 
My Father in heaven, yea, and my Mother in 
heaven! Strength as from a father, and comfort- 
ing as from a mother! Nothing is to lack in God 
—the broad breast, the tender arms, the gentle 
voice, the kisses on forehead and lips. As one 
whom his mother comforteth, so the Lord will 
comfort me. 



216 



WEEK 106. 

WEEK 106. 

Sunday. Read Jeremiah i. My Mouth. 

Thy hand upon my mouth, O Thou God of 
speech! My tongue trembles and stammers. I 
fall back from before the truth. I fear before 
men. Ah, be my fear directed toward Thee the 
rather! Touch Thou my mouth, and bid me 
speak Thy words. 

Monday. Read Jeremiah 2. My Forgetting. 
I do not forget the adornments of my body; but 
I neglect the jewels of my soul. I am not un- 
mindful of the bath, till it comes to the cleansing 
of my heart. I would not go with ragged gar- 
ments, but I suffer the nakedness of my soul to 
stand revealed. Oh, when shall I learn propor- 
tions, and when shall I keep house in my heart? 

Tuesday. Read Jeremiah 3. My Treachery. 
Base as the basest of human treacheries, baser 
than the treachery of man to wife and wife to 
husband, is it to play false to God. For He is 
more to us than husband or wife, or father or 
mother or any dear one. 

Wed. Read Jeremiah 4* My Desolation. 
There is a wilderness that grows within my 
soul, a place of stones and brambles, a place of 
barrenness and heat, a place of terror and pain. 
It is the place where God is not, and I fashioned 
it myself. I drove out the trees. I pulled up the 
grass. I drained the rivers of waters. Lo, I am 
desolate, OGod; and it is I that wrought the 
desolation. 

Thursday. Read Jeremiah 5. My Desire. 
If my life is foul with sin, it is because I love to 
have it so. No fate thrust it upon me. No com- 
pulsion binds it upon me. No smith rivets my 

217 



WEEK 106. 

chains. I hug them to my bosom. I cry out when 
men would take them away. Let me not deceive 
myself : I do not hate my sin. 

Friday. Read Jeremiah 6. My Self-Deceit. 
I often cry to my soul, Peace, Peace, when 
there is no peace. I often, when I would not 
think to cheat others, plot to cheat myself. I 
paint upon the sky my own mirages, and raise 
my own visions to deceive my eyes. Oh, the des- 
perate folly of one that will not be honest with 
hirdself! 

Saturday. Bead Jeremiah 7. My Trust. 
A word cannot save me. A name cannot save 
me. A title cannot save me. Though I prattle 
forever of holiness, holiness, holiness, I am not 
thereby less impure. Though I cry daily, The 
temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The 
temple of the Lord, I am none the more in the 
temple, nor the temple in me. O God of realities, 
lead me into the meaning of words! 



218 



WEEK 107. 

WEEK 107. 

Sunday. Read Jeremiah 8. My Physician. 
It is well to know when one is sick. It is better 
to know where there is medicine. But best of all 
is it to know where there is a physician. Ah, my 
soul, fevered and worn, there is balm in Gilead, 
there is a Physician there! He will touch you 
with His hand, and the fever will leave you. 

Monday. Read Jeremiah 9. My Tears. 
I weep enough, but do I weep wisely enough? 
I have tears a-plenty, but are they well bestowed? 
Not when they are bestowed upon myself, upon 
my petty woes, my more foolish fears ; but well, 
when they are bestowed upon my people, the 
slain by sin. 

Tuesday. Read Jeremiah 10. My Way. 
Too often, alas! my way is in myself. Too 
often I direct my own steps. And then my way 
becomes a byway and my steps fall into the mo- 
rass. Then I fall, and there is none to lift me up. 
Oh, that my way were directed ! Oh, that I might 
cease from self-wandering! 

Wednesday. Read Jeremiah 11. My Cry. 
When my cry to God is unanswered, it is never 
because God does not hear. It is because I do 
not hear the answer, or because, by reason of my 
sins, there can be no answer. For my sins block 
often the way of my prayers, and my iniquities 
are a barrier before advancing good. 

Thursday. Read Jeremiah 12. My Reasoning. 
The Lord knows, He fully understands, yet 
will He be informed by His suppliants, yet will 
He listen to our pleas and be moved by our dull 
reasoning. In any way we may approach God, 
however stupid, so it be sincere. And God will 
be at the end of the way. 

219 



WEEK 107. 

Friday. Read Jeremiah 13. My Spots. 
If I am a leopard, a spotted leopard I must be. 
No washing can remove the spots, no medicine 
can cleanse me from them, if they are leopard 
spots. There is a washing, that can cleanse. 
There is a Physician, that can purify. But by 
long evil there becomes a leopard, and the leop- 
ard spots at length— remain. 

Saturday. Bead Jeremiah 14- My Famine. 
It is not a famine of food, but of joy; not of 
water, but of love. That famine eateth sorely. 
That drought parcheth inwardly. And it is in 
sight of the Water of Life, in very touch with the 
Bread of Life. The supreme folly of earth is this 
famine of the soul. 



220 



WEEK 108. 

WEEK 108. 

Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 15. My Food. 
I make my meals upon Thy words, O God. I 
eat them, I feed upon them, they enter into bone 
and muscle, they run with my blood, they leap 
with me, they are my strength all the day. They 
never fail me, but are become a feast in the wil- 
derness, and a full table in the midst of the sea. 

Monday. Bead Jeremiah 16. My Argument. 
If I will not hear the argument of love, the 
Lord will cause me to hear the reasoning of ter- 
ror. If my memory of Egypt fails, I shall have 
the fresh remembrance of Babylon. For the 
Lord will press Himself upon me; yea, with 
words that I must hear, and in some fashion deal 
with. 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 17. My Self-Deceit. 
I can fool others, but far better can I fool my- 
%seif. I can dissemble to others, but I can be a 
perfect dissembler to myself. I can hide to my- 
self. I can paint my own face, and look in the 
mirror and say, Behold, how fair ! I can even 
fall in love with myself. 

Wednesday. Bead Jeremiah 18. My Pit. 
All around me are pits for my soul. My ene- 
mies have dug them, and laid pleasant branches 
over the mouths of them, and drawn pleasant 
paths to them, and hidden behind them the en- 
ticements of song. Yes, and still I see them to 
be pits, and know that my enemies are there in 
ambush. Yes, and still I walk into them! 

Thursday. Bead Jeremiah 19. My Breaking. 

As a potter's vessel, thrown upon the ground, a 
heap of worthless shards, so shall I be, my Judge, 
unless I heed Thy words. As a potter's vessel, 

221 



WEEK 108. 

turned perfectly on the wheel and fired perfectly 
in the oven, to grace the table or the shelf, so 
shall I be, my Judge, if I follow Thy hand and 
am obedient to Thy turning. 

Friday. Bead Jeremiah 20. My Persecution. 
What though all the world rise up against me, 
since the Lord has not risen up against me? 
What though my feet are fast in the stocks, so 
long as my thought is free to roam? What 
avails the persecution of man against the protec- 
tion of God? 

Saturday. Bead Jeremiah 21. My Opponent, 
If the Lord march against me, I am indeed un- 
done ! Before other advances I may set up a 
barricade, but none against His. Against other 
weapons I may raise a fort, but none against 
His. Oh, woe to me if the Lord march against 
me ! 



222 



WEEK 109. 

WEEK 109. 

Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 22. My Injustice. 
All wealth of mine that is not wealth for others 
also, is loss to me. All my pleasures that are 
sorrows for others shall become griefs to me. 
Every injustice of mine to others shall rebound 
upon my own head. Oh, Thou God of all right- 
eousness, Thou perfect Judge, be Thou the di- 
rector of my life ! 

Monday. Read Jeremiah 23. My Hiding. 
How many secret places have I sought, to hide 
from the Lord! I have concealed myself in self- 
love, I have lurked in hypocrisies, I have covered 
myself with sophistries, and I have retreated be- 
hind all evasions. But God has been everywhere 
I have gone, and beneath all covers I have seen 
His piercing eye. 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 24. My Basket. 
In which basket shall I lie, among the good 
figs, or the bad figs? among those whose, lives 
are sound and healthy, sweet and wholesome, 
or among those of inward pollution and outward 
disgrace? There is no third basket. 

Wednesday. Bead Jeremiah 25. My Cup. 
The Lord has a cup for me ; one of two cups for 
me. One is the wine of His love. The other is 
the wine of His fury. I must drink the one or the 
other, and I must drink it all. I am reaching out 
my hand to take the one or the other. He will 
not give me both. He will not let me choose. He 
will give me one cup or the other. Which shall 
it be? 

Thursday. Bead Jeremiah 26. My Turning. 
The Lord's repentance is not like man's re- 
pentance. That God may repent Him of His 
purposed evil, man must turn from the evil he 

223 



WEEK 109. 

has done. God cannot, with all His power, turn 
from the ways of wrath till man turns from the 
ways of iniquity. Thus even the way of the Al- 
mighty is in my hands. 

Friday. Read Jeremiah 27. My Choice. 
Life possible— and to choose death! freedom, 
—and to choose serfdom! blessedness— and to 
choose misery! No insanity so foolish as the in- 
sanity of the wicked. No folly so insane as the 
folly of those that despise their God. 

Saturday. Read Jeremiah 28. My Prophecy. 
Whether pleasing or displeasing, grant me 
courage, O God, to speak Thy words. Whether 
easy or hard, whether the way of persecution or 
of popularity, let me speak the truth to all men 
as I see the truth for all men, and let me know no 
word that is not of the truth. For Thou, O God, 
art the Truth. 



224 



WEEK 110. 

WEEK 110. 

Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 29. My Search. 
What is worth finding, save my God? What is 
worth seeking, save what is worth finding? My 
search is for folly, and half my striving is after 
emptiness. O God, teach me tile value of things, 
and lead me to pursue the true values. 

Monday. Bead Jeremiah 30. My Lovers. 
I will count my lovers, not by their words but 
by their memories. I will reckon my friends, not 
by their promises but by their completions. If 
they forget me, I will forget even my love for 
them. But there is a Friend that never forgets, 
a Lover who loves everlastingly. 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 31. My Knowledge. 
Why am I taught of the Lord but to know the 
Lord? To what avail are all these books and 
sermons, these witnessings heard and these evi- 
dences seen, the books of the Lord, written and 
growing? I should be far past hearing and see- 
ing. I should know, and 1 should know that I 
know. 

Wed. Bead Jeremiah 32. My Confidence. 
All I have shall be cast upon the chance of the 
Lord's victory. All I am shall be hazarded on 
the Lord's side. Fields to buy, they shall be 
bought. Armies to fight, they shall be met. Na- 
tions to face, they shall be confronted, and God's 
power will overcome them. There is no risk, on 
the Lord's side. 

Thurs. Bead Jeremiah 33. My Abundance. 
What is the abundance I seek? A plenty of 
gold and goods. What is the plenty God holds 
out? An abundance of peace and truth. And 
the plenty I seek is scarcity, but God alone 

225 



WEEK 110. 

abounds. Oh, that I may cease from my unwis- 
dom! 

Friday. Bead Jeremiah 34. My Liberty. 
The liberty 1 refuse to others shall be a chain 
about my own neck. It shall be a liberty to the 
sword, a title to'the pestilence, a freedom for 
famine! There is no liberty to me, if I will not 
enfranchise others! 

Sat. ' Bead Jeremiah 35. My Obedience. 
Be the obedience of others my disgrace, if I am 
not also obedient. Be the grandeur of the law 
my shame, if I disobey the law. Be every possi- 
bility of nobility that I miss a swift certainty of 
ignominy. Oh, to do the words of the law, fully, 
freely, and forever! 



226 



WEEK 111. 

WEEK 111. 

Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 36. My Pen-Knife. 
There are other knives than those made of 
metal which may cut leaves from Holy Writ, and 
thrust them into the fire. Indifference will do it, 
and carelessness, and indolence, and infidelity, 
and selfishness, and absorption in worldly cares. 
Ah, let me keep my pen-knife in its sheath! 

Monday. Read Jeremiah 37. My Enemies. 
They charge me falsely. They put me in prison. 
Prisons of contempt. Prisons of ridicule. Prisons 
of deprivation and loss. What of it? What of 
it? Do not they imprison my God with me, since 
the charges are false? And when God is in the 
prison, in it are the liberties of all fair lands. 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 38. My Dungeon. 
It is dark and foul. The air is a horror. I sink 
in abominable mire. It is the dungeon of my 
own evil thoughts, and there is no other dungeon 
for me in all the earth. Oh, for an Ebed-melech, 
to let down any rags and lift me out into the 
pureness and sunshine again! And my Ebed- 
melech is ever at hand. 

Wed. Bead Jeremiah 39. My Captivity. 

My captivity, if it is ever accomplished, will be 
wrought out by myself. My own guns will be 
trained against my walls, my own mines will 
blow them up from beneath, my own forces will 
storm the breaches, and my own chains will be 
passed around my body. Let me ascribe to no 
one else, on earth or below it, the deeds I do 
with my own brain and spirit. 

Thur. Bead Jeremiah 40. My Dwelling-Place. 

If I speak God's words and do God's will, I 

may dwell as I please in God's land. All its val- 

227 



WEEK HI. 

leys of peace are open before me, all its hills of 
power. Its fruitful orchards are mine, and its 
living waters. There is no confining of my pleas- 
ures, no stinting of my will, if my pleasurable 
will is to do the will of God. 

Friday. Read Jeremiah 41* My Stores. 
I may buy off my'lif e from my foe. My stores 
may purchase peace and safety for my body. 
But what store can I lay up, what treasury can I 
fill, that I may buy my soul's safety and peace? 
None; ah, none! But a ransom is ready, and I 
shall be bought. 

Saturday, Bead Jeremiah 4%* My Fear. 
If I flee from my fear, it shall overtake me. If 
I pursue peace and safety, they shall flee from 
me and escape. If I would save my life, I shall 
lose it. My fear brings with it the evil that it 
dreads. O my soul, rest thou in the Lord! O my 
soul, bide thou blessedly at home. 



228 



WEEK 112. 

WEEK 112. 
Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 43. My Refuge. 
If it is not the refuge that the Lord appoints, I 
shall hide there wholly in vain. Though the 
land is far to which I flee, though its armies 
swarm about me and its walls span all frontiers, 
it is no refuge for me. But if the Lord appoints 
me to the open desert, the un walled plain, that is 
my refuge, and there I may not be touched. 

Monday. Bead Jeremiah 44- My Prosperity. 

In my prosperity I forgot the Lord and turned 
to the gods of this world. Shall I therefore say 
that those gods brought me prosperity? No, for 
they could not maintain me in it. Now that I am 
fallen into adversity, it is of the Lord; and He 
who brought me low is He who can lift me again, 
into all the prosperity from which I have fallen. 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 45. My Greatness. 

Seekestthou great things for thyself? O soul, 
seek them not! Let the Lord seek them for thee. 
Let the Lord build thy house, let Him fashion thy 
crown. The greatness that He seeks for thee 
shall be thine ; but the greatness that thou dost 
seek for thyself, no least part of it shall ever be 
thine. 

Wednesday. Bead Jeremiah 46- My Stand. 
If the Lord drive me, surely I shall not stand ; 
but if men drive me, and not the Lord, certainly I 
shall not be driven, but shall stand unshaken. 
Oh, in my heart of hearts to be sure of this! Oh, 
to have an unshaken confidence in my God! 

Thursday. Bead Jeremiah 4?> My Sword. 
If I wield the sword of the Lord, if He has 
given it into my hand, though it is heavy to hold, 
though I groan at the swinging of it and its hiss 
through the air, yet it must never go to the scab- 

229 



WEEK 112. 

bard till the Lord says, " Rest, and be quiet." 
Alas for any peace that is not the Lord's peace! 

Friday. Bead Jeremiah 48> My Negligence. 
Ah, yes: cursed Ue he that doeth the work of 
the Lord negligently! The curse is not from the 
Lord, hut from the neglected work. It shall rise 
up against me, if I am the sluggard. It shall 
drive a dagger to my soul. 

Sat. Read Jeremiah 49- My Deep Dwelling. 
Dwell deep, O my soul! Dwell truly deep, O 
my soul! Pierce to the heart of the world. Enter 
into the secret of affairs. Know that the heart 
of things is God. There is no deep beyond His 
depth, no centre around which He moves. Reach 
Him, O my soul, and you have reached the Ulti- 
mate. 



230 



WEEK 113. 

WEEK 113. 
Sunday. Bead Jeremiah 50. My Flight. 
As I am bidden, I will flee out of the midst of 
Babylon, I will go forth out of the land of the 
Chaldeans. Their ways shall not be my ways 
nor their desires my desires. Those that the 
Lord is wroth against must not be my friends; 
they must not fail to be my foes. 

Mon. Bead Jeremiah 51. My Drunkenness. 

The world offers me a golden cup, full of spark- 
ling wine. Its fumes leap out and enwrap my 
brain. I am promised all happiness. I dream of 
all power. I stagger with pride. I am besotted 
with folly. O my God, when shall I have the 
manliness to strike this golden cup, and forbid it 
my lips forever? 

Tuesday. Bead Jeremiah 52. My Allowance. 
I am a king. Do I accept an underthrone in 
serfdom? I own a realm. Am I gladly receiv- 
ing a change of prison garments? All wealth is 
mine. Am I shamefully grateful for an allow- 
ance from my captors? Oh, final ignominy of 
sin, that the royal soul forgets its rights! 

Wednesday. Bead Lam. 1. My Heedlessness. 
44 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?" 
Am I also among the heedless throng? Have I 
no ears for the moaning of Christ's brothers, no 
eyes to see their wretchedness? However their 
"misery came, surely it is here; and I am here; 
and Christ is here. Is it nothing to me, while it 
is so much to Him? 

Thurs. Bead Lamentations 2. My Enemy. 
The Lord may become my enemy! No fate 
such as that, to be feared and to be avoided. 
His pity, even, may cease toward me, and the 
stream of His love be turned away from me, and 

23X 



WEEK 113. 

all help fail. Oh, may this, the one sorrow of 
heaven, happen no more upon the earth. At 
least, let it not ever come to me, or to those 
whom I can save from it. 

Friday. Bead Lamentations 3. My Mercies. 
They are new every morning, Thy mercies to- 
ward me. Great is Thy faithfulness, O my God. 
They hold me from the fire of Thy anger, that I 
may not be consumed with my sins. They main- 
tain me in the sunshine of Thy love, that I may 
grow and rejoice all the day. 

Sat. Bead Lamentations 4* My Fine Gold. 
Has my fine gold become as clay? Is it suffer- 
ing the sad transformation? Let me guard 
against the coarsening of my life! Let me see to 
it that my purest and best is kept at its best and 
purest. 



232 



WEEK 114. 

WEEK 114. 

Sunday. Bead Lamentations 5. My Turning. 
Turn Thou me, O Lord, and I shall be turned. 
Not in my own wisdom or strength can I turn 
from any evil. It is too strong for me. Its al- 
lurement debauches my will. I am as an infant 
in its hands. But an Infant, O God, that reaches 
out its hands to Thee. 

Monday. Read Ezekiel 1. My Spirit. 

Whither my spirit leads, all the wheels of my 
life will follow. I can lead myself. No other 
can lead myself. No other in all the universes 
can conduct my powers. Ah, but some other 
can guide me, the me that guides my powers! 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 2. My Fear. 

If the Lord bid me speak, I will speak, though 
all men speak agaiust me. I will arise at the au- 
gust command, I will stand upon my feet, I will 
bear me like a man! For it is other than a man 
that commands me, other than all men and all 
worlds. There shall be in my heart no fear, no 
fear but of Him. . 

Wednesday. Read Ezekiel 3. My Food. 
Do I really feed upon God's word? Is it in my 
mouth, or only upon the table? Am I hungry for 
it, or indifferent to it? Is it an ornament rather 
than a food, an exterior rather than a compo- 
nent? O Christ, be to me truly the Bread of life! 
Be to me truly the Water of life! 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 4, My Bread. 
If I do not the Lord's will, my staff of bread 
shall be broken. That upon which I lean, the 
strength of my body and the power of my mind, 
shall be broken. And my joy shall be broken 
with it. Thou alone canst restore it, Thou 
Staff of men, Thou Bread of life! 

233 



WEEK 114. 

Friday. Bead Ezekiel 5. My Reproach. 
Let me know what will come upon me, if I do 
not obey the divine behest. Let me see my 
shame afar off, that I may avoid that way, that I 
may flee from it and never know it. For it is a 
reproach hardly to be shaken off, it is a sword, it 
is a fire, it will enter the heart of my life and de- 
stroy it forever. 

Saturday. Bead Ezekiel 6. My Waste. 
The waste places of my life; alas, the deserts 
and desolations of my life, the places that should 
glow with blossoms and are barren, that should 
wave with verdure and are bare ! To be a wilder- 
ness when one might be a garden! Does my life 
tend that way? Is my life running to waste? 



234 



WEEK 115. 

WEEK 115. 

Sunday. Bead Ezekiel 7. My Ways. 

Truly the Lord will bring my ways upon me. 
Like chains rolled up around me and holding me 
close, He will gather up the long coiling courses 
of my iniquity; or, like garlands and wreaths, 
tokens of grace and glory, He will lay upon me 
the flowery pathways of past worthiness. What 
are these ways of mine that the Lord will bring 
upon me ; ah, what? 

Monday. Bead Ezekiel 8. My Thoughts. 
What fills my chambers of imagery? Are they 
temples of beauty, or dens of vileness? Is God 
there worshipped, or lust? When some day those 
chambers are thrown open to the gaze of men 
and angels, shall I be humbly proud, or unutter- 
ably ashamed? O God, cleanse my mind! O 
God, beautify my mind! 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 9. My Mark. 

Has the man with the inkhorn set his mark 
upon my forehead? When the sword of just 
retribution is drawn, when the fire of righteous 
wrath flames abroad, will it pierce my soul, will 
it devour my joy? Oh, Thy mark upon my fore- 
head, Lord, that all men and angels may see it! 

Wednesday. Bead Ezekiel 10. My Service. 
As the spirits of the heavens obey Thee, Infi- 
nite One, and the spirits of the great deep, spirits 
of fire and of earth, wheel within wheel of Thy 
creatures, s;lory involving glory of Thy service- 
able realm, so let me serve Thee with the whole 
heart, power upon power, joy upon joy, grace 
upon grace! 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 11, My Sanctuary. 

Thou art my sanctuary, O God, in a strange 

land. And though an exile, yet 1 am at home, 

235 



WEEK 115. 

since I may enter my sanctuary, and find my 
Father there! It is a land of detestable things 
and all abominations; but in this sanctuary is 
pureness of heart. 

Friday. Read Ezekiel 12. My Removing. 
Let me also, like the prophet of old, prepare 
my stuff for removing. In the sight of all men 
let me live as for another country, as an immi- 
grant ready to start. Let me find here no con- 
tinuing city, but carry my possessions ever with 
me for embarkation. 

Saturday. Bead Ezekiel IS. My Visions. 
Sometimes my visions are vain visions, mirages 
born of empty desires. Sometimes I prophesy 
out of my own heart, and deceive myself and 
others. And then I lead myself into morasses, 
and blindly lead others who are blind as I. Oh, 
for clearness of sight! Oh, for soundness of 
purpose! And they are to be found in God alone. 



236 



WEEK 116. 

WEEK 116. 
Sunday. Bead Ezekiel 14* My Comforting. 
Am I of the remnant, of those that will comfort 
•others in the time of their trouble, when dire dis- 
tress comes upon men because of their sin? Is 
my life a rock upon which drowning men may 
lay their hands? Is my life a light, toward which 
lost men may grope? 

Monday. Bead Ezekiel 15. My Use. 

Am I as a vine, or as an oak? Can God use me 
for walls of His temple? for strength? for pro- 
tection? Am I broad, stanch, substantial? Or 
am I pliant as a vine, and worthless as a burned 
branch of the vine? Not in my own vain thoughts, 
not in the partial thoughts of others, but in the 
veritable thought of God, what is the use of me? 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 16. My Ingratitude. 
No picture that can be painted, not even" that 
of the adulterous wife of a faithful husband, is 
too black for my ingratitude. What could be 
done for man that has not been done for me? 
What could be done by man, of fouL thanklessness 
and crude ingratitude, that has not been done by 
me? And yet the Lord has not given me up! 

Wednesday. Bead Ezekiel 17. My Planting. 

The Lord of Plantations has set me in the soil. 
He will have His way with me, as is His right. 
He will bring down the high tree, and let it not 
rebel. He will exalt the low tree,and let it not be 
proud. He will dry up the green tree, and it may 
not revive. He will make the dry tree flourish, 
and it must not vaunt itself. For all fortunes are 
of the Lord, and all fortunes are just. 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 18. My Inheritance. 

Truly I receive much from my forefathers, and 

they that come after me will receive much from 

237 



WEEK 116. 

me; much, both of good and evil. But I am to 
live my own life and make my own destiny, as are 
they also to do. My inheritance is mine, it is not 
I. It is tools, and not destiny. 

Friday. Bead Ezekiel 19. My Failures. 
There are many that are disappointed when I 
fail, for many are they that love me and have 
hopes for me. They mourn over my captivity, 
they faint in my sickness, they die in my death. 
I am not living for myself, but for all these also. 

Saturday. Read Ezekiel 20. My Life. 

In Thy judgments is life, O God. In them I 
live, and from no other source do I draw my ex- 
istence. Thy judgments are the springtide, blos- 
soming in beauty; they are the autumn, golden 
with harvest. Thy judgments are a great arm, 
mighty to strike down, mighty to uphold. By Thy 
judgments, God, I live forever. 



238 



WEEK 117 

WEEK 117. 
Sunday. Bead Ezekiel 2 1 . My Overturning. 
God will overturn, overturn, overturn, will 
leave no fortune upright and no life established, 
till He is exalted in the life— He whose right it is 
to rule therein. There is no safety to the wicked. 
There is no confidence except in obedience to the 
Lord. 

Monday. Bead Ezekiel 22. My Dross. 
What can I wish but that my dross should be 
consumed, that I should be pure gold, for use and 
for beauty? Ah, but if I am all dross? If the 
furnace consumes me utterly? What am I build- 
ing into my character against that stern testing? 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 23. My Defiling. 
There is no evil that is not recompensed in sor- 
row. There is no impure outgoing that is not re- 
paid by sad and ruinous incoming. God's justice 
is not to be escaped or diminished. Where were 
the race of men, if God's justice could be lessened 
or escaped? 

Wed. Bead Ezekiel 24. My Endurance. 
When God's justice smites with a sword, when 
the stroke of His righteousness falls, it is not for 
me to cry aloud, nor even to mourn before men, 
though my nearest and dearest is stricken dowm 
All such sighing is a complaint, and all such 
mourning is an upbraiding of God. 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 25. My Punishment. 
God is an avenging God. I want Him to avenge 
me of that which harms my dear ones and me. 
Why should I complain when His vengeance falls 
upon me, if I do harm to others and to their dear 
ones? Shall not the Lord be impartial? Shall 
not the Judge hold even scales? 

2& 



WEEK 117. 

Friday. Bead Ezekiel 26. My Replenishing 
Am I like Tyre, that said, " I shall be replen- 
ished, now that she is laid waste"? Do I find 
my fortune in others' misfortune, and build my 
blessings on others' bane? Let me know, then, 
of a surety, that no one in all the world can suffer 
loss without my suffering loss. Let me know that 
the system of the world is one. 

Saturday. Bead Ezekiel 27. My Riches. 
If my tower is ill founded, the higher it rises, it 
is uplifted but to the more awful fall. If my house 
is built upon a volcano, the more wealth I crowd 
within it, only the richer will be the lava. If in 
any way my prosperity is commingled with in- 
iquity, the greater it is, the greater is the ruin 1 
am devising for myself. 



240 



WEEK 118. 

WEEK 118. 

Sunday. Bead Ezekiel 28. My Pride. 
Because my heart was lifted up, therefore it 
was struck down. Because my vanity was in- 
flated, therefore it was pierced. Because I raised 
myself in foolish conceit above my fellows, there- 
fore I am placed beneath their feet, and men 
trample upon me. There is a vice that punishes 
itself. That vice is pride. 

Monday. Bead Ezekiel 29. My Staff. 
Israel leaned upon Egypt, and it was a staff of 
reed. Upon what am I leaning? Does that on 
which I rest bend beneath my weight? Does it 
bend and will it break? Is it of man and so of 
weakness? Or is it of God, and so as firm as the 
everlasting powers, as rigid as the laws of the 
universe? 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 30. My Arms. 
The Lord breaks the arms of those that oppose 
Him. The Lord strengthens the arms of His 
friends. The Lord smites the sword from the 
arms of His enemies. The Lord upholds the 
arms of those that trust in Him. If my arms are 
strong, it is of the Lord. If my arms are weak, 
it is of myself. 

Wednesday. Bead Ezekiel 31. My Branches. 
I am as a tree, planted by the rivers of water. 
If my branches grow long and thick, it is not of 
me ; it is of the air and the water. If my shadow 
is good for rest, if birds nestle in my boughs, it is 
not of me ; it is of the sunshine and the rain. Let 
me grow, but not in my own strength; let me 
grow in the strength of the Lord. 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 32^ My Darkness. 

There come times, to me as to Egypt, when the 

Lord makes all the bright lights of heaven dark 

241 



WEEK 118. 

over me. It is that my soul may be light, and 
not that it may be dark. It is not that I may not 
see, but that I may not see the world, and that I 
may see God. 

Friday. Read Ezekiel 33. My Warning. 
Those that warn me are many. The Lord has 
a myriad ways of guarding me. The Lord will 
not be blameworthy if 1 fall. They that warn me 
will not be blameworthy. The trumpets call here, 
they call there, and I lie upon my bed. 

Sat. Read Ezekiel 34. My Greediness. 
I am one of the Lord's great flock. Where I 
feed, others also are to feed. Where I drink, 
there are many to drink. If I tread down the 
grass that I do not feed upon, and muddy with 
my feet the waters for others, what am I but a 
thief, a common thief ? For all greed is theft. 



242 



WEEK 119. 

WEEK 119. 

Sunday. Bead Ezekiel 35. My Magnifying. 
How vast the difference, whether I magnify my- 
self against the Lord, or magnify the Lord, to the 
forgetting of myself! The first is the desolation 
of Mount Seir, the second is the exaltation of 
Mount Zion. For whosoever exalts the Lord 
shall himself be exalted, even to the heavens. 

Monday. Bead Ezekiel 36. My New Heart. 
That is what I need, O God,— a new heart. Not 
a new house, nor a new fortune, nor new gar- 
ments ; not new knowledge nor new philosophy ; 
not new achievements even. No ; what I need is 
new power of achievement, new capacity to en- 
joy, to bless and be blessed. What I need is a 
new heart. 

Tuesday. Bead Ezekiel 37. My Revival. 
Dry bones, in very truth, is all my life, O God. 
A life of disjointed plans, of fleshless purpose, of 
brainless pleasures. The mere skeleton of life, 
compared with what it might be, and should be. 
Touch my life, O God, with Thy reviving finger, 
and ail these dry bones shall live. 

Wednesday. Bead Ezekiel 38. My Security. 
Those whom the Lord protects shall dwell se- 
curely, all of them. There is no security in walls 
or fortresses. There is no security in wealth or 
worldly power and wisdom. There is no security 
in anything that has been made, but in the 
Maker. In Him let me rest my confidence. 

Thursday. Bead Ezekiel 39. My Revenge. 
Let my revenge be a part of God's revenge 
upon His enemies. Let it be no more. Let it be 
no less. Let it reach as far as God's revenge 
reaches, and let it extend no whit farther. Then 

243 



WEEK 119. 

shall my revenge be safe, and then shall my re- 
venge be holy. 

Friday. Read Ezekiel 40. My City. 

I will build in my heart a city of God. Its every 
measurement shall be familiar to me. All its 
directions shall be known to me, its every out- 
line. I will dream of its perfections. I will gloat 
over its coming glories. And the vision of it 
shall abide with me until it is realized. 

Saturday. Read Ezekiel 41* My Temple. 
I will rear a temple for my God. Though it be 
only in my longings, only in my dreams, the tem- 
ple shall be built; and the dream shall become 
substantial, piece by piece. It shall be conceived 
of God within my soul, each part of it formed by 
His creative Spirit. And if it is thus conceived 
and fashioned, no fear but it shall come to birth. 



244 



WEEK 120. 

WEEK 120. 

Sunday. Read Ezekiel 42. My Holy Places. 
In all my life planning I must leave room for 
the holy places. Those spaces are more valuable 
than the work-shops of my life, richer than the 
treasure chambers, wiser than the library. They 
are places of withdrawal from the world, places 
of meeting with God. O my God, meet me there 
everyday! 

Monday. Read Ezekiel 4$- My Glorification. 

My house is not glorified till the glory of the 
Lord has entered it. The glory of beauty may be 
there, yet it is not glorified. The glory of power 
may be there, and all the glitter of wealth, yet it 
is not glorified. But when the glory of the Lord 
enters its holy places, then my house shall shine 
as the sun. 

Tuesday. Read Ezekiel 44- My Ministering. 
Whatever I do for the Lord— and should not all 
my deeds be for the Lord?— shall be done with a 
pure heart and clean hands. Oh, let me not ven- 
ture otherwise into the presence of His purity 
and power! My service shall be service for a 
King, done in royal fashion and with kingly in- 
tent. 

Wednesday. Read Ezekiel 45- My Measures. 
I must see to my standards. Whatever I meas- 
ure out to men must be dealt forth out of true 
measures. It may be time or thought or any 
form of service. Whatever it is, let it be just 
weight, full quantity, pressed down, heaped up, 
running over. 

Thursday. Read Ezekiel 46. My Offerings. 

Gifts for the Lord must be fit gifts. They must 

be such as He desires. They must be regularly 

presented. Such be my service, O God most 

245 



WEEK 120. 

worthy! Such be my offerings, due and desired! 
Let me not neglect them, nor stint them, nor 
cheat myself in seeking to cfieat Thee! 

Friday. Read Ezekiel 4?- My Evangelism. 
That wonderful river should flow from my life, 
for I, I also, am a temple of the living God, and 
forth from my life should flow a fountain of living 
water. It should increase as it flows, broaden- 
ing and deepening. It should reach to every na- 
tion. And everything should live, whithersoever 
those waters come. 

Saturday. Read Ezekiel 4S. My Portion. 
Share and share alike, equal in breadth, straight 
across the land of blessedness,— so shall fare the 
people of God! And if my neighbor's lot is fairer 
than mine, let me rejoice. If it is more 'fruitful, 
let me be sincerely glad. 



246 



WEEK 121. 

WEEK 121. 

Sunday. Btad Daniel 1, My Fare. 

Let my food be pulse and water, O God of tem- 
perance and power! I would be strong in will to 
resist the temptations of the senses, that I may 
be strong in body to do Thy will. Grant Thy 
help for this, my Father. 

Monday. Bead Daniel 2, My Insight. 
Things which man's wisdom cannot under- 
stand, Thou wilt reveal to the simple. It is not 
in the minds Thou hast created to pierce the 
mysteries of the universe, but it is in them to re- 
ceive Thy revelation of all mysteries. Oh, let me 
do Thy will, that I may know Thy doctrine! 

Tuesday. Bead Daniel 3, My Furnace. 
When I bow down to God, and will not bow 
down to mammon, a furnace is kindled for me, 
and hot anger rages against me. It is a real fur- 
nace, and no mirage. It is a genuine peril, and 
no fancy. But from the midst of the fire moves 
the God of the fire, and stands by my side! 
Whom or what shall I ever fear? 

Wednesday. Bead Daniel 4- My Seeming. 
I do not go upon hands and knees and eat grass 
with the brutes, but often my soul goes upon all 
fours and wallows in the sty. What to me that I 
look like a man if inwardly I am a beast? 

Thursday. Bead Daniel 5. My Warning. 
I have a kingdom. Though it is small, it is all 
mine. Though it is poor, I am rich in it. I did 
not earn it or deserve it, but it was given me, and 
without my desert. Ah, let me see no warning 
over against it, no writing on the wall! I will 
acknowledge the Lord at all- times, and His 
praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

247 



WEEK 121. 

Friday. Read Daniel 6. My Lions. 

There are lions in the way of doing God's will. 
They howl against me. They gnash their teeth 
upon my resolutions. They snarl upon my 
prayers. But I will continue to pray. And I 
will continue in the path. For I will remember 
how the lions slink away before God's sons ad- 
vancing, and how they fawn about his feet who 
does God's will. 

Saturday. Bead Daniel 7. My Fate. 
Shall I be one of the saints, the judges of all 
the earth? or one of the evil beings that are 
judged? Am I to sit on a throne, or lie at the 
bottom of a pit? Which is to be my fate, of glory 
or shame, of misery or blessedness? Ah, my 
fate is in my own hands this day. 



WEEK 122. 

WEEK 122. 

Sunday. Bead Daniel 8. My Sorrow. 

When I hear of the woes of the world, do I 
faint like Daniel? Am I sick, as he was? When 
I perceive evil tendencies in the times, is my 
heart grieved as at a personal loss? How far, in 
reality, is the Kingdom of God my kingdom, and 
God's cause my cause? 

Monday. Bead Daniel 9. My Confession. 
If I should begin my confessions, and carry 
them through to the end, where should I begin 
and where should I make an end? For they 
must be as many as my days and as long as my 
years. I confess myself a sinner before Thee, O 
God who dost know all my sins. Yea, Thou dost 
know them better than I know them myself. 

Tuesday. Read Daniel 10. My Strength. 
Wnen I consider with whom I have to do, then 
my heart faints within me. When I remember 
whom I have offended, against whom I am in 
rebellion, who it is that stands before me as a 
Judge, my tongue is stricken and my spirit falls 
to dust. What strength have I in Thy presence, 
my God, unless it be given me by Thyself? 

Wednesday. Bead Daniel 11. My Exploits. 
God has great deeds for me to do. I do not 
know what they are, because I do not know Him 
closely; but I do know Him, and that He has 
great plans for me. Oh, let me come to know 
Him better, that I may enter into His great plans 
for me, and, in His strength, carry them out! 

Thursday. Bead Daniel 12. My Shining. 
I wish to shine on earth, in these fleeting years 
of time. Ah, what folly to disregard the ever- 
lasting brilliance! I must be wise in the wisdom 



WEEK 122. 

of Goct In that wisdom I must turn men to God. 
That is the secret, the twofold blessed secret, of 
eternal shining. 

Friday. Bead Hosea 1. My Name. 

Is my name Ammi, or Lo-ammi, God's, or not- 
God's? Not, What do men call me? but What 
does God call me? What is the new name, the 
character-name, the name of revealing, that will 
be conferred upon me in the land of open vision 
and frank naming? 

Saturday. Bead Hosea 2. My Door of Hope. 
Dark though my life has been, it need no longer 
be dark. Hopeless though my future seem, it 
need no longer be hopeless. JSo, not an instant 
longer. The door of hope is at hand. Its knob 
is only a step before me. It is not locked. It is 
open. Some one stands there, beckoning to me. 



250 



WEEK 123. 

WEEK 123. 

Sunday. Bead Hosea 3. My Respite. 
1 need not fear: I shall have all chances for 
repentance. God will even hold me from my sin- 
ning by force at times, that when released I may 
not return to it. Oh, the patient planning of my 
Teacher! How doubly sinful to disappoint Him! 

Monday. Bead Hosea 4- My Permission. 
If I am thoroughly joined to my idbls, the Lord 
will leave me alone. I am allowed to sin to the 
full, to heap up the measure of the divine wrath. 
Oh, fearful opportunity! Oh, terrible license! 

Tuesday. Bead Hosea 5, My Search. 
Though I go with flocks and herds to seek the 
Lord, and though I plan altars full of sacrifices, 
if my will is not sacrificed, if my heart goes not 
with me, then shall I seek the Lord in vain. Alas, 
to seek Him in vain who never turns from any 
sincere approach! 

Wednesday. Bead Hosea 6. My Following. 
I cannot know the Lord unless I follow on to 
know Him. Not in an hour or a day am I to 
know Him, whom all angels in all eternity can 
study without fully learning. It is an everlasting 
pursuit, this knowing God. How good that my 
God cannot be known in a day! 

Thursday. Bead Hosea 7. My Beleaguers. 
I am beset. I am surrounded. Turn one way, 
and enemies face me. Turn another way, and I 
am walled in by foes. Ah, it is my own doings 
that thus beset me about. Ah, it is my own mis- 
erable past that thus imprisons my present. 

Friday. Bead Hosea 8. My Reaping. 

I, who have sown the wind, do I think to reap 

other than the whirlwind? The seeds that lie in 

251 



WEEK 123. 

the furrows are even now peering above the soil. 
Has soil a transforming power? Will it change 
wind to sunshine? 

Saturday. Bead Hosea 9. My Bread. 
Have 1 so used my possessions that I cannot 
use them for God? Have my flocks been for my 
maw. so that they cannot lie upon the altar? Has 
my bread been for my appetite, so that it cannot 
be devoted to my God? Are my goods so selfishly 
mine that they can no longer serve my highest 
uses? 



252 



WEEK 124. 

WEEK 124. 
Sunday. Bead Hosea 10. My Time. 

Verily it is time for me to seek the Lord. Long 
time have I sought other gods. Long time have 
I learned what they can do for me— what they 
can not do for me. The time of punishment has 
come. The time of disillusion has come. The 
time of death draws near. Surely, it is time, sad 
and shameful time, to seek the Lord. 

Monday. Bead Hosea 11. My Bands. 
Well might the Lord have led me with the 
cords of a wild beast, but He has drawn me ever 
with the cords of a man. Well might He have 
bound me with bands of terror, but He has con- 
strained me with the bands of love. And yet, ah, 
wretch that I am! I rebel against His gracious 
guidance! 

Tuesday. Bead Hosea 12. My Memorial. 
Be my memorial the Lord, as He was the me- 
morial of Israel! Let my life be so joined with 
His designs, my honor so associated with His 
glory, that there may be no separation of the 
two. I would merge my memory in the history 
of the Kingdom of God. 

Wednesday. Bead Hosea 13. My Grave. 

What place can be a grave for me? What 
death can have terror for me? Where is the 
sting of death and where its victory? There is no 
grave to him who lives with the Ever-Living; 
and there is no defeat, even by death, for him 
who dwells with God. 

Thursday. Bead Hosea 14* My Return. 

With words, for they are all that I have. With 

sacrifices of my lips, for I possess no other flocks. 

With humility and repentance and with fitting 

253 



WEEK 124. 

speech I will return to my God. For I am a 
prodigal, and I have spent all else in the far 
country. 

Friday. Bead Joel 1. My Famine. 

When I am without Thee, O God, I am without 
all things/ I have no food without Thee, and all 
my fields are bare. I have no flock without Thee, 
and all my folds are empty. It is desolation 
without Thee, and yet I go running after the pesti- 
lence, and consort with the plague! 

Saturday. Bead Joel 2. My Visions. 

Why have I eyes, but to see more than is visi- 
ble? Why am I on the earth, but to peer beyond 
the earth? Why am I in this life, but to know 
further than this life? O Lord, open Thou mine 
eyes! God, enlighten my understanding! 



254 



WEEK 125. 

WEEK 125. 

Sunday* Bead Joel 3, My Valley. 

" Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of deci- 
sion!" And I there among them. I with my 
evil past. I with my gloomy future. I with my 
tainted present. Ah, but my Saviour is there, 
too. And therefore Hope is there. 

Monday. Bead Amos 1. My Transgressions. 
They are three, yea, four! They have been 
heaped up so long that God will not turn away 
the punishment. It will burn as a fire. It will 
weigh as a chain. It will devour the palaces of 
my peace. But God is in that fire. 

Tuesday. Bead Amos 2. My Flight. 

Am I swift? Flight shall perish from me. In 
the day of the Lord's wrath, of little avail are 
feet or wings. Though I took the wings of the 
morning, though my retreat were beyond the sea, 
it would be as if I moved not. 

Wednesday. Bead Amos 8. My Prophecies. 

I would not speak my own words in any speech. 
I would wait till God has spoken, and then re- 
peat His words after Him. For my words are 
emptiness, and all their syllables are vain. 

Thursday. Bead Amos 4> My Preparation. 
I am preparing my food for the morrow and my 
clothing for the next season. I am preparing my 
work ahead of me, and the work I shall set others 
to doing. I am preparing to meet men, and show 
them my works and myself. But there is one 
preparation I am forgetting to make. Prepare to 
meet thy God, O my soul! 

Friday. Bead Amos S. My Enjoyment. 

The houses I have built, shall I live in them? 

The vineyards I have planted, shall I eat of them? 

255 



WEEK 125. 

The work I have done, shall I reap the rewards? 
Yes, if it was the Lord's work; but only in the 
Lord's time and only in the Lord's place. Would 
I have it in any other time or place ? 

Saturday Read Amos 6. My Ease. 

I have a bed, but woe to me if I lie on it! 
Couches have I, but woe to me if I use them! 
There is no time for rest. There is only time for 
work. In work shall be my rest and my ease, all 
the days of my life! 



256 



WEEK 126. 

WEEK 126. 
Sunday. Read Amos 7. My Opponents. 
When men rise up against me, let me remember 
that they are only men. When they bid me be 
silent, let me inquire only what God would have 
me speak. When they threaten death, let me 
not forget that God offers life. 

Monday. Read Amos 8. My Famine. 

I am hungry, and I do not understand what 
food I want. I am thirsty, and I forget what 
fountain will quench my thirst. I feed upon air, 
I drink the wind, I spurn bread and abhor water. 
The famine is in my soul; it is not in God's world 
around me. 

Tuesday. Read Amos 9. My Sifting. 

God is sifting my life, as in a sieve. He shakes 
it back and forth, passions and powers and pos- 
sessions, hopes and fears, ambitions and failures, 
what I am and what I might be. Back and forth 
He shakes it all, and not one grain of true wheat 
is allowed to fail to the ground. 

Wednesday. Read Obadiah. My Pride. 
I have dwelt in the clefts of the rock, and have 
asked, " Who shall bring me down to the ground? " 
And the Lord has laid me low. I have mounted 
on high with the eagle, and made my nest with 
the stars, and the Lord has reached and taken 
me. No pride is safe from Jehovah ; but all hu- 
mility is His delight. 

Thursday. Read Jonah 1. My Flight. 
I thought to escape duty, and a harder duty 
followed me. I would run away from God, and 
God piloted the vessel on which I sailed. I drew 
myself into concealment, and I drew Jehovah in 
with me. There is no fleeing from Thee, O God! 
My very flight is a summons to Thee. 

257 



WEEK 126. 

Friday. Bead Jonah 2. My Repentance. 
Out of the depths I cried to God. His waves 
and His billows were over me. His storms were 
round about me. I was afraid of His wrath. But 
I had learned to be even more afraid of myself. 
From my inner storms I turned to Him, even in 
His anger; and I found a haven of peace. 

Saturday. Bead Jonah 3. My Proclamation. 
Let me declare the will of the Lord. Though I 
am small and the city is very great. Though I 
am feeble and my enemies are very strong. 
Though my wisdom falters and my foes are 
shrewd. Let me proclaim the will of the Lord 
and all men shall fall down before it. 



258 



WEEK 127. 

WEEK 127. 

Sunday. Bead Jonah 4- My Gourd. 

How much more kind is God than men! He is 
patient while men strike, long-suffering while 
men berate. He is not too proud to forgive. He 
relaxes His penalties without fear for His au- 
thority. The vast sphere of the universe, and ali 
therein, is my gourd to teach me the goodness of 
God. 

Monday. Bead Micah 1. My Witness. 

It is the Lord, who will witness for me or 
against me. If for me, though all men and angels 
condemn me, I shall be safe and honored. If 
against me, though the universal voice applaud 
me, I shall go down to the" everlasting shame. 

Tuesday. Bead Micah 2. My Haughtiness. 

Where is my warrant for my pride? Why do I 
walk haughtily, the time being evil? Have I not 
sinned enough to bow my head? Should not my 
transgressions bend me to the dust? 

Wednesday. Bead Micah S. My Prophecy. 

Are my words weighty words? Yea, if the Lord 
be upon them. But if only I am borne thereon, 
any zephyr may carry them, any zephyr may 
blow them away. It is a great thing to speak 
the words of the Lord. There is no greater for- 
tune to the sons of men. 

Thursday. Bead Micah 4> My Security. 

Who shall make me afraid? The Lord's word 
is my bulwark! What attack shall confound me? 
Jehovah's promise is my fortress! My home is 
an impregnable castle though only a hut, if it is 
God's home as well as mine. 

259 



WEEK 127. 

Friday. Read Micah 5. My Supremacy. 
But little among the thousands am I, as Bethle- 
hem among the cities ; hut though I were as Nin- 
eveh I am nothing, and though I were as Baby- 
lon I am emptiness. Cometh the Lord from my 
life? That shall greaten it! Spring His deeds 
from my dust? tThey shall be my glory! 

Saturday. Read Micah 6. My Requirements. 
They are three heavy things that the Lord re- 
quires of me,— justice, and mercy, and humility! 
Heavy, because they require nothing of me but 
love. Heavy, because they mean only unselfish- 
ness. Heavy, because they would be so easy to 
one in whom dwelt the Spirit of Christ! 



260 



WEEK 128. 

WEEK 128. 

Sunday. Bead Mieah 7. My Waiting. 
I will bear the indignation of God. I will not 
chafe against His penalties. They are deserved 
penalties. It is an inevitable indignation. I 
will wait till He Himself plead my cause. I will 
wait, for the divine indignation will speak for me, 
and the divine penalty will be my advocate! 

Monday. Bead Nahum 1. My Strong Hold. 
The Lord is my strong hold. The strength of 
all that come against me is of Him, and subject 
to His permission. He that holds me holds them 
from me. What folly are the poor defences I con- 
trive against them! 

Tuesday. Bead Nahum 2. My Overthrow. 
If the Lord come up against me, farewell to my 
proud possessions! They melt away like morn- 
ing vapor, or like shadows before the sun. My 
jewels dissolve, my houses crumble, my robes 
vanish. Woe to me and mine, in the day when 
the Lord comes up against me! 

Wednesday. Bead Nahum 3. My Warnings. 
These whom the Lord has overthrown— let me 
consider: Am I better than they? Are my sins 
less? Is my pride less? Is my obedience greater 
than theirs? If they fell under deserved penalty, 
how shall I escape? 

Thursday. Bead Habakkuk 1. My Gods 
Am I one whose might is my god? Do I sacrifice 
to my net and burn incense to my drag? Is my 
work my deity, do my achievements fill my pan- 
theon? Yea, I need no wooden image to know 
the guilt and folly of the idolater! 

Friday. Bead Habakkuk 2. My Faith. 

Let it be my livelihood, my faith ; that whereby 

I get goodly gain, and day's wages as the year is 

261 



WEEK 128. 

long. Let it be my life, my faith ; that of which I 
breathe, that on which I feed, my pulse-beat, my 
vivifying joy. I am not just, but I am justified; 
and in that faith I live. 

Sat. Bead Habbakuk 3. My High Places. 
I will not live in the valley while I may live on 
the mountain. I will not mourn while I may re- 
joice. I will not rear my mountain, for it is al- 
ready uplifted. I will not climb my mountain, for 
the Lord will place me on its summit. 



262 



WEEK 129, 

WEEK 129. 

Sunday. Read Zephaniah 1. My Silence. 

In the presence of the Lord I am to hold my 
peace. When His decree goes forth, my very 
heart is to be acquiescence. When He upbraids, 
I am to make no reply. My condemnation is fed 
by my complaint. 
Mon. Read Zephaniah 2. My Carelessness. 

Am I one that says in his heart, " I am, and 
there is none else beside me"? Is my soul the 
joyous city that dwells carelessly? Am I heed- 
less of others, reckless of myself, scornful of my 
God? Then shall my life become a desolation, a 
place for beasts to lie down in! 
Tuesday. Read Zephaniah 3. My Language. 

When shall mine be the pure language, that 
calls upon the name of the Lord? When shall 
mine be the fruitful language, that issues in con- 
senting service of God? No other speech is 
worthy of Thy son, O my Father! Thy name in- 
cludes all that is high, and beautiful, and strong. 
Be Thy name my language forever. 
Wednesday. Read Hag gai 1. My Building. 

If my wealth is for myself, it is kept in a bag 
with holes. If my house is for myself, it will not 
shelter me. It is never a time to dwell in ceiled 
houses while the Lord's house lies waste. And 
the house of the Lord is love. 
Thursday. Read Hag gai 2. My Courage. 

I have no courage in me. My heart is not in 
me. I would not have my heart in me; I would 
rest it on the Lord. Jehovah shall be my cour- 
age and my strength. When I am my own cour- 
age, it is as water. 

Friday. Read Zechariah 1. My Comfort. 
Though I am distressed, my prosperity shall 

263 



WEEK 129. 

yet spread abroad. Though I am in despair, the 
Lord will yet comfort me. Though I am outcast, 
the King of kings will yet choose me, even me. 
And in the assurance of what is to come I will 
now lift up my head. 

Saturday. Read Zechariah 2. My Glory. 
The Lord shall be the glory in the midst of my 
life. It shall be a burning glory, purifying all 
that is base. It shall be a shining glory, beauti- 
fying all that is ugly. It shall be an enlarging 
glory, ennobling all that is small and mean. All 
this will the Lord be to me. 



264 



WEEK 130. 

WEEK 130. 

Sunday. Read Zechariah 3. My Rescue. 
Surely I was a brand in the fire. The flames 
leaped upon me. Passions devoured me. They 
breathed hot breath against me, and my soul en- 
tered the horror of death. But surely I am a 
brand from the burning. A Hand has been 
reached forth. It has taken me from the fire. 
Soiled, black, charred,— ah, the beautiful white 
Hand! 

Monday. Read Zechariah 4- My Golden Oil. 
When I run by my might, how am I distanced! 
When I fight by my power, how am I overthrown ! 
When I shine by my light, how I flicker and go 
out! Feed Thou me, mysterious flowing Olive 
Tree! Not by my might or power, but by the 
might and power of Thy Spirit, O Thou only 
Strength of men. 

Tuesday. Read Zechariah 5. My Ephah. 
When shall my wickedness be cast into a meas- 
ure, and be borne away? When shall a weight of 
lead be cast upon it, to bury it forever? Ah, 
when I will! For the ephah is ready, and the 
weight has been provided. 

Wednesday. Read Zechariah 6. My Crown. 
If I am to wear a crown, the Lord is fashioning 
it. The crowns I am wearing now shall fall to 
dust. The earth made them and the earth re- 
tains them. There are crowns that fall from 
heaven, and carry their crowned ones thither 
again. 

Thursday. Read Zechariah 7. My Fast. 
Did I fast, and oppress the widow? Did I 
pray, and withhold compassion? Did I sing an- 
thems, and imagine evil against my brother? 

265 



WEEK 130. 

Therefore is my fast become a curse, and my 
prayer a pestilence, and my song a hissing in the 
ear. 

Friday. Read Zechariah 8. My Neighbor. 
Before the Lord can enter my house, I must 
enter the house of my neighbor. Truth I must 
take with me, and peace and good will. Then 
may God enter my house ; but He enters no house 
that loves no neighbor. 

Saturday. Read Zechariah 9. My Prison. 
I am a prisoner, but a prisoner of hope! Deep 
is my dungeon, but not too deep for the sun. I 
have dwelt there long, and may dwell there 
longer, but I shall not be there forever. And 
when I look back, it will be upon the dark en 
trance of Paradise ! 



266 



WEEK 131. 



WEEK 131. 



Sun. Read Zechariah 10. My Remembering. 
I will remember Jehovah in far countries. Far 
from His house, I will make a sanctuary among 
the heathen. Far from His peace, I will remem- 
ber Him in the tumult of battle. Far from His 
joy, I will not forget Him though wretchedness 
surround me. And in the remembrance will be 
joy, and peace, and home. 

Monday. Read Zechariah 11. My Sheep. 
Though I think I have no sheep, yet I have 
some. Others look up to me, others depend upon 
me. No man goes utterly lonely through the 
world. Am I the worthless shepherd, whose are 
the woes? or the faithful shepherd, whose are the 
joys of the flock and of their Owner? 

Tuesday. Read Zechariah 12. My Look. 
Straight through the loving heart of my Father 
my sins have pierced. The blood of His anguish 
has flowed. The horror of my iniquity has been 
upon Him. Ah, that one look upon Him whom I 
have pierced! It will burn in my mind forever. 

Wed. Read Zechariah IS. My Fountain. 
Foul indeed am I, and full of all uncleanness. 
It is not enough to wash me without when I am 
filthy within. The Fountain must be within me, 
and it must not merely lave me. Yes; and the 
Fountain will spring up within me at a wish. 

Thursday. Read Zechariah 14- My Evening. 
I care not for the day, if the sun break forth in 
the evening. Let the last sky be cloudless, and 
the whole day is fair. So shall it be with me, ac- 
cording to Thy word, O God. After all storms 
and darkness, at evening time there shall be 
light. 

267 



WEEK 131. 

Friday. Read Malachi 1. My Offerings. 
The best for the Best! The best of my time, 
and not a hurried fragment hastily torn away. 
The best of my talent, and not what is unmarket- 
able. The best of my goods, and not the worm- 
eaten. The best for the Best! Anything less leads 
to the worst. 

Saturday. Read Malachi 2. My Brothers. 
The next man I meet has my Father for his 
own. The same love of God yearns out for him 
that awaits me. The same heaven, the same 
hell, are possible for him. Why, then, do I not 
fly to my brother? Why do we not walk to- 
gether, at least a little way? 



268 



WEEK 132. 

WEEK 132. 

Sunday. Bead MalacM 3. My Tithes. 

My possessions are not mine. If I call them 
my possessions in my heart, it is because they 
have come to possess me. All that I have is the 
Lord's; and shall He not have His will with His 
own? What is the whole tithe but the whole? 
And if God return nine tithes, how liberal is He! 

Monday. Bead Malachi 4. My Healing. 
Upon the first chapter of the Old Testament 
the sun arises, and upon the last the Sun of 
Righteousness. Between the two chapters how 
much of sin, how much of terrible warning! But 
in the last chapter is healing. My healing, as 
well as for the Israelites, for upon me also the 
Sun has risen., 

Tuesday. Bead Matthew 1. My Immanuel. 
The Sun of Righteousness, no longer prophe- 
sied, has come indeed! Out of dawning, it is 
full day! With healing in His wings, He shall 
save His people from their sins. God with us! 
My God with me! 

Wednesday. Bead Matthew 2. My Offerings. 
The offerings for which Malachi pleaded before 
he prophesied the coming of Christ, here, now 
that Christ is come, we see poured out by the 
wise men. Wise men indeed were they, and 
wise shall I be if I follow them, kneeling at 
Jesus' feet with my glad gifts. 

Thursday. Bead Matthew 3. My Repentance. 

So closely is the Bible knit together that at the 
entrance to the New Testament stands the incar- 
nation of the Old Testament. O that my life may 
heed the message of the Baptist! For there is 
only one door to the Door, and that is sincere 
repentance, leading to repentant deeds. 

269 



WEEK 132. 

Friday. Bead Matthew 4- My Testing. 
Not only in the wilderness, but in the palace, 
comes the devil to me; and where he comes is 
wilderness. My temptations are not those of 
Jesus, yet they are the same. For all tempta- 
tion is to forget others and seek self. From that 
temptation, O my unselfish Saviour, bring me 
into Thy salvation. 

Saturday. Bead Matthew 5. My Blessedness. 
When He that made blessedness points to hu- 
mility as the highest gain, shall I pursue pride? 
When He exalts purity, shall I endure a stain? 
When He commends mercy, shall I be hard of 
heart? or mourning, shall I shrink from dark 
pathways? Is it because I, who am unhappy, 
am wiser than the Creator of all joy? 



270 



WEEK 133. 

WEEK 133, 

Sunday. Bead Matthew 6. My Hypocrisy. 

I do not think myself a hypocrite. Does any 
one think himself a hypocrite ? But the ques- 
tion is, Does God know me to be a hypocrite ? 
And the test is, Would I be willing that all men 
should know me as He knows me ? Ah, would I ? 

Monday. Bead Matthew 7. My Foundation. 

Is my house built on the rock or on the sand ? 
Will it endure the tempests that are sure to 
come ? Will it remain stanch when swept by the 
dark waters of death ? Do I reach down to what 
is solid, and am I comforted, daytime and night- 
time, by the Great Certainty ? 

Tuesday. Bead Matthew 8. My Demons. 

Yes, I too am possessed of demons. They lead 
me with them to solitary places. They tear my 
soul. They cause me to do shameful things, and 
separate me from my kind. But Thou, O Christ, 
art greater than my demons; even a legion of 
them is less than Thy least whisper. 

Wednesday. Bead Matthew 9. My Touch. 

If I but touch the hem of Christ's garment with 
the hand of faith, 1 shall be made whole. If I 
clasp Him and cling to Him with the hand of un- 
f aith or of half-faith, it is nothing. Oh, to believe 
my beliefs ! 

Thursday. Bead Matthew 10. My Mission. 

If Christ sends me forth (and Christ does send 
me forth), He will go with me. What I carry will 
not matter, in my purse or in my hand. How I 
am received will not matter, whether with praise 
or a blow. I shall go with Christ, and I shall go 
to success. 

271 



WEEK 133. 

Friday. Read Matthew 11. My Yoke. 

The trouble is, I am bearing my own yoke. I 
have chosen it. I have fashioned it to my shoul- 
ders. I have fixed the "burden on it. And it is 
weighing me to the earth. Oh, let me throw it off ! 
Lay upon me, O Christ, Thy yoke, which is easy, 
and Thy burden, which is light. 

Saturday. Bead Matthew 12. My Sabbaths. 

Do I truly yield up to Christ one-seventh of my 
time ? He made the Sabbath for me ; am I using 
it, not for myself, but for the world ? not for the 
eternities, but the temporalities ? He made the 
Sabbath. Should not He best know how to use it? 



272 



WEEK 134. 

WEEK 134. 

Sunday. Bead Matthew 13. My Receiving. 

How good is God to me ! How He pours forth 
His bounty, like the myriad seeds of the sum- 
mer ! It is no question of seed, it is a question 
of soil. Is my heart ready to receive God's gifts ? 
Is my life eager and swift to use them ? 

Monday. Read Matthew 14* My Daring. 

Waves dash around me, as they rose and fell 
before Peter. Waves of trouble. Waves of fear. 
Waves of passion. I can walk upon them, if I 
will, for my Lord bids me to. Or I can sink in 
them, if my faith fails, though the Lord is stand- 
ing by. Ah, which shall it be, on my Gennesaret ? 

Tuesday. Bead Matthew 15. My Persistence. 

When Jesus repulses me, as He repelled the 
Syro-phoenician, it is not to drive me away, but 
to draw me near. It is to spur my resolution, test 
my courage, and render me more worthy of my 
desires. Let me not complain, then, at the divine 
delays. They are divine invitations. 

Wednesday. Bead Matt. 16. My Self-Seeking. 

My mistakes are only one, and that is all-com- 
prehensive. It is in following self instead of 
Christ. It is in seeking gain and not God. What 
I find, when I seek gain, is only my wretched self. 
What I find, when I seek God, is eternal gain. 

Thursday. Bead Matthew 17. My Demon. 

Why cannot I cast him out ? For the same 
reason that kept the disciples from healing the 
epileptic. Because I have not faith. No faith, 
not even a mustard-seed of faith, for that would 
be enough. O Christ, be Thou my faith, as Thou 
wilt be. Then shall I get rid of my demon. 

273 



WEEK 134. 

Friday. Read Matthew 18. My Stumbling. 

Let me clear my path before me ! Evil de- 
sires, unholy passions, worldly ambitions, faith- 
less worries, let them all be cleared from my path. 
If anything is an occasion of stumbling, however 
dear, however familiar, let me cast it from me. 
A clear path, from earth to heaven ! Can any 
rejected joy equal that ? 

Saturday. Read Matthew 19. My Riches. 

To leave all and follow Christ,— be that my 
bank account ! To give gladly and freely,— be 
that my treasury ! I would be rich, but with the 
enduring riches. Oh, make me a millionaire of 
heaven, Thou heavenly Treasurer, though I be- 
come a pauper on earth 1 



274 



WEEK 135. 

WEEK 135. 

Sunday. Bead Matthew 20. My Vineyard. 
I have a work to do, a corner of the vineyard 
to till. God has a reward to give. If he choose 
to give it for past w r ork, for belated work, the 
greater His glory and the more my grief. I re- 
ceive the pay. Ah, yes ; hut I have not done the 
work. 

Monday. Bead Matthew 21. My Triumph. 
"When Christ, the Lord, next goes on a triumph, 
shall I be of His retinue ? Shall I have a share 
in His plaudits ? Shall I be admitted to His joy? 
For no Calvary is to follow that triumph. No 
cross is to attend that crown. It is to be all 
glory, and forever. 

Tues. Bead Matt. 22. My Wedding Garment. 
Service is not enough, though the service be 
ever so faithful. No service suffices without soul. 
It is never enough to lavish time without thought, 
nor thought without love, nor love without joy. 
It is never enough to go to the wedding, if one 
goes as to a workshop. 

Wednesday. Bead Matt. 23. My Hypocrisy. 
I am what I am within, and not what I am out- 
wardly. It is easy*to cheat myself with my mir- 
ror. It is easy to see myself reflected in men's 
praises, and approve myself and fall in love with 
myself. But that is not I, not at all I. I am what 
I am within. 

Thursday. Bead Matt. 24- My Expectation. 
Men live jokingly over a mine that may any 
day explode. Men feast amid the falling cinders 
of an active volcano. Men saunter through 
streets that quiver with earthquakes. Ah, the 
folly of those that live to the day, and take no 
thought for the hereafter ! 

275 



WEEK 135. 

Friday. Bead Matthew 25. My Talents. 
It is not how many talents I have, but what I 
do with what I have. It is not what gain I make 
with my talents, but what attempt I make to in- 
crease them. God will not hold me accountable 
for what is not of man ; he will hold me account- 
able for my desire. 

Saturday. Bead Matt. 26. My Gethsemane. 
To feel one's self abandoned by man. To feel 
one's self an outcast from love. To be unvalued, 
unpraised, neglected, scorned. To see the 
heavens black overhead. To hear no echo of my 
prayer. To be alone in eternity. That is to 
enter Gethsemane. This is the triumph of faith, 
not to be alone in Gethsemane. To say, Christ 
also has been here; therefore, though I cannot 
see Him, He is here with me. 



276 



WEEK 136. 

WEEK 136. 

Sunday. Bead Matthew 27. My Cross. 

I crucified with Christ? What nail has yet 
pierced my body or my soul? Upon what rack 
of agony have I yet been stretched, even an 
hour, for the love of man? What darkness has 
been thrust upon me by the hatred of enemies,— 
enemies made by my righteous zeal? I crucified 
with Christ? Nay; I have not yet crept to the 
foot of Calvary. 
Monday. Bead Matthew 28. My Comrade. 

Lo, He is with me alvvay. To the end of the 
world He is with me, to the end of all worlds, if I 
am one of His disciples. Do I rejoice in the 
gladness of His presence? Do I realize my glo- 
rious partnership? Why s all life should be a 
sunrise in the joy of it! 

Tuesday. Bead Mark 1. My Fishing. 

A fisher of men! For what am I fishing? Is it 
for gold dollars? Is it for a laurel wreath? Is it 
for costly raiment? Or is the end of my search, 
the real longing of my soul, my brother's heart? 
What is my toil for, truly? And is Christ in the 
boat with me? 

Wednesday. Bead Mark 2. My Palsy. 
I am borne of four; yea, of more than four. 
What friends, what countless holy influences, 
carry me Christward! And I need Him so, with 
my palsied soul! Yet ever I shake them all off, 
and flee from the house where the Healer is. Ah, 
my palsy itself has become dear to me! 

Thursday. Bead Mark 3. My Discipleship. 
Twelve? Nay; twelve hundred; twelve hun- 
dred million! My Lord appointed the Twelve 

277 



WEEK 136. 

just to show how He appoints all, how He ap- 
points me. It is the highest honor of earth and 
heaven, and it is veritably mine. 

Friday. Bead Mark 4* My Fear. 

To be sure, the wind rages, and the lightning 
flashes, and the waves run high. To be sure, the 
boat tosses, and seems about to swamp. But 
Christ is in the boat, and fear is folly. Christ is 
in the boat, and it is as safe as any couch upon 
the land. 

Saturday. Read Mark 5. My Solitude. 
Why do I go apart from men? Is it to meet 
God, or devils? Is it to build myself up, or to 
tear myself down? Is it to pray or to rage in 
frenzy? Ah, let me know that I certainly am 
not what I am in the throng, but what I am in 
the desert. 



278 



WEEK 137. 

WEEK 137. 

Sunday. Read Mark 6. My "Witnessing. 
I am not called to bear witness before a king, 
like John the Baptist ; but I am to bear witness 
for a king. I may not be called to lay down my 
life in the way he laid down his, but I am called 
to lay down my life, God grant me his courage 
for his sacrifice ! 

Monday. Read Mark 7. My Hand-Washing. 
I would have clean hands ; but let me not call 
my hands clean, though they be white as snow, 
if they obey a filthy heart. I would carry about 
a pure body; but let me count the least defile* 
ment of my soul as more deplorable far than a 
body whelmed in the mire. May I be washed, 
within and without, in the Fountain of Life! 

Tuesday. Read Mark 8. My Profit. 

As I rise in the morning, I will say, " To-day 
let me seek the true gain." As I fall asleep at 
night. I will say, " Come, now ; let me reckon up 
my true gains." Not the winning of goods, but 
the bestowing of blessings. Not the receipt of 
praise, but the strengthening of character. 

Wednesday. Read Mark 9. My Maiming. 
If my goods cause me to stumble in the Chris- 
tian path, I must count it a gain to give them 
away. If my talents cause me to stumble, I 
must know that I am more talented when I for- 
get them utterly. Whatever I do not use for the 
Master masters me, and I am better off without 
it, till I can master it. 

Thursday. Read Mark 10. My Glory. 

Is what I wish a share in the Saviour's glory, or 

in the love and self-sacrifice that make the glory ? 

Do I seek the crown without the cross, Olivet 

279 



WEEK 137. 

without Calvary ? Then I am one of those end- 
lessly foolish ones that expect something out of 
nothing; nay, the greatest thing of all the uni- 
verse out of the least thing in all the universe. 

Fri. Bead Mark 11, My Money-Changing. 

Am I one of those whom Christ would drive from 
His Father's temple with a scourge? Yes, if I 
take into that temple my own self-interest, though 
only the gloating over a successful bargain, 
though only the planning for a bargain on the 
morrow. For the temple is for God and man, and 
not for self. It is for eternity, and the things of 
eternity, and not for bubble-blowing. 

Saturday. Bead Mark 12. My Mite. 

Let me give as the poor widow gave! If I give 
as she gave, I shall have nothing left. If I give 
as she gave, I shall have all things gained. .She 
entered, bearing her whole livelihood. She went 
away, bearing life, which is better than livelihood. 



280 



WEEK 138. 



WEEK 138. 



Sunday. Bead Mark 13. My Endurance. 
There will be much to endure,— wars and rumors 
of wars, fightings within and without, fears and 
tumults and hatreds and despair. But nothing 
will befall me that I cannot endure, with Christ; 
and if I endure to the end, I shall be saved. An 
endurance how brief, for a salvation endless and 
entire ! 

Monday. Bead Mark 14> My Forsaking. 
If they all forsook Him and fled, may not I? 
Am I stronger than Peter the rock? Am I wiser 
than James? Am I more alert than Andrew and 
Philip? Am I more loving than John? Am I 
readier and more self-denying than Matthew? 
If they forsook Him, must not I fear that I shall 
forsake Him, and guard myself in that fear at 
every point? 

Tuesday. Bead Mark 15, My King. 

He was the King of the Jews, of those who had 
denied Him, and given Him up. He was the 
King of the Romans, of those who were crucify- 
ing Him, unjustly and cruelly. He was King of 
the Greeks, who were looking on, in the enjoy- 
ment of a new sensation. He was the King of all 
the unborn ages. Yea, my King, Lord of my 
body and soul, of all I am and have, hung there 
on the awful cross! 

Wednesday. Bead Mark 16. My Risen Life. 

When they, the early disciples, had entered 
into the joy and power of the resurrection, they 
went forth everywhere preaching Christ, myste- 
rious attestations attending their words. And all, 
ever since, who have entered into the joy and 
power of the resurrection have proved that en- 

281 



WEEK 138. 

trance by the same going forth. Oh, be mine the 
risen life, and no longer the cell life of the worm! 

Thursday. Bead Luke 1. My Magnificat. 

Let my soul magnify the Lord, for the Lord has 
magnified me! He has greatened me and ex- 
alted me and overpassed my hopes with His 
bounty. I cannot overpass Him or enlarge Him, 
but I can magnify my love for Him, and my ser- 
vice,- and my praise. O my soul, magnify the 
Lord! 

Friday. Bead Luke 2. My Good Tidings. 

"Good tidings of great joy," and "to all peo- 
ple." News. Most joyful news. To all. Then 
to me. Have I really received it? Why, then, 
am I not joyful? 

Saturday. Bead Luke 3. My Repentance. 

I have only one evidence of repentance, and 
that is the fruits of repentance. I have tried 
others. I have presented the feeling of repent- 
ance, but that has been rejected. And the words 
.of repentance, but they have been refused. Ah, 
the deeds of repentance! They have brought 
peace to my soul. 



282 



WEEK 139. 

WEEK 139. 

Sunday. Bead Luke 4- My Temptation. 
My Lord would not have suffered His tempta- 
tions if they had not been my temptations also. 
He conquered them to show me how I may con- 
quer them: by resistance of evil; by hatred of 
sin, in thought as well as deed; by prayer; by 
the sword of the Spirit, the invincible Word! 

Monday. • Bead Luke 5. My Friends. 

All around me are those that need my Saviour. 
They are sick, and He is the Physician. They 
are ignorant, and He is the Teacher. They are 
lost, and He is the Good Shepherd. I know the 
way to Him, and they do not. How am I worse 
than the ugliest churl if I do not help to carry 
them to Him, yea, even though I must break 
through roofs to lower them at His feet? 

Tuesday. Bead Luke 6. My Appointment. 
What an eternal honor it would be, to have 
one's name enrolled among those Twelve! What 
twelve names, among the sons of men, have re- 
ceived a more glorious privilege? Ah, none ; but 
every name that has confessed Jesus to be Lord 
has a privilege as glorious. My name, even mine, 
may stand among the ever-widening Twelve! 

Wednesday. Bead Luke 7. My Doubts. 
When I share the doubts of John, in his moody 
prison, let me go forth with John's messengers 
and see Jesus at work. Let me see Christianity 
opening blind eyes, raising up the lame, cleans- 
ing the leper, raising the dead! In the sunshine 
of that joy my doubts will melt away. 

Thursday. Bead Luke 8. My Storms. 

Tempests arise in my soul more terrible than 

any on the Sea of Galilee. I am not as fearful of 

283 



WEEK 139. 

them as I should be, and yet I am fearful. But 
I am not often so terrified as to be driven to the 
One who alone can still them, the One who is 
with me in the boat. 

Friday. Bead Luke 9. My Life. 

Let me once clearly know what my life is, and 
I shall begin to live! But I follow a no-life, a 
mirage, a sham of a life, and deem myself to be 
living. Could I lose that life, it would be my life's 
chief gain. 

Saturday. Bead Luke 10. My Neighbor. 
My neighbor is he who has fallen among 
thieves. Yes, and my neighbors are the priest 
and the Levite, who passed by on the other side. 
Perhaps they are in sorer need of me than the 
wounded man, for their hurts are in a deeper, 
more difficult part. My neighbor is he that needs 
me, in any way, body or soul. 



284 



WEEK 140. 

WEEK 140. 

Sunday. Bead Luke 11. My Request. 
What do I desire of the Lord? Is it something 
that He can grant? Yes, always. For what I 
really desire is not the wild and foolish thing 
that often springs to my lips, and that He would 
no more give me than a kind father would give 
poison to his child that cried for it. What I 
really desire is the joy and peace that my Father 
is always eager for me to have. 

Monday. Bead Luke 12. My Anxiety. 
How do I most surely disclose the folly of my 
heart? By my foolish fears. I have God for my 
Father, and tremble like a forlorn orphan. I 
have all the wealth of the universe, and go ragged 
like a pauper. When shall I believe my beliefs 
and confide in my confidence? 

Tuesday. Bead Luke 13. My Leaven. 
Is the leaven of the Word really hidden in my 
heart? If it is, let me look to my life. It cannot 
remain without a witness of itself. It cannot 
tarry in one place. It must permeate. It must 
become my life, my self. 

Wednesday. Bead Luke 14- My Promotion. 
What seat do I occupy at the feast of life? Am 
I in the lower seats, and discontented? Am I in 
the lower seats, and there in the expectation 
that I shall be asked to go up higher? There is 
no virtue in that. But am I in the lower seats be- 
cause I really think that I belong there? Be- 
cause I honor others and distrust myself? Then 
I may some day be invited higher. 

Thursday. Bead Luke 15. My Joy. 

What constitutes my pleasure? Eating and 

drinking and wearing and getting and owning? 

285 



WEEK 140. 

In none of these things can I have fellowship 
with the joy of my Lord. His joy is in what oth- 
ers eat and drink and wear and get and own. 
Can 1 attune my joy to His? 

Friday. Bead Luke 16. My Fidelity. 

A key is a small thing, but it opens a large thing. 
No test is a small thing that determines our fit- 
ness for a large thing. And every act of life is a 
test, and every lot in life is an examination, and 
the humblest life on earth, if well lived, may be- 
come the passport into the sublimest kingdom of 
eternity. 

Saturday. Bead Luke 17. My Profit. 
I am an unprofitable servant. At the best, my 
service yields no surplus, nothing over and above 
my duty. I can no more than earn -my living, I 
can make no profit for my Master. Oh, may that 
Master look leniently on His slave! 



286 



WEEK 141. 

WEEK 141. 

Sunday. Bead Luke IS. My Importunity. 

my Judge ! O my Physician ! With an eager- 
ness more than any wronged, more than any 
sick, I come to Thee. Thou hast all I need, and 
in over-abundance. And Thou hast this that I 
need most of all, the willingness to give. Thou 
dost ask only the asking. Thou eager and I 
eager, shall not I receive? 

Monday. Bead Luke 19. My Colt. 

My Master sends to me for many things. " The 
Lord hath need of them," the messengers say. 
" And I also, I have need of them," say I. Ah, 
fool that I am, not to know that what the Lord 
borrows He returns tenfold! 

Tuesday. Bead Luke 20. My Tribute. 

1 render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, 
and to God things that are God's; but do I 
render to God all that is His? And do I not ren- 
der to Caesar far more than is his? It is so easy 
to stint heaven, and it is so hard to stint earth! 

Wednesday. Bead Luke 21. My Mites. 
Shall I give the widow's mites? That is, shall 
I give my all? It would not be a smallsum, as 
was hers ; and yet, large or small, it must be my 
all to equal hers. Oh, how pitiful are my gifts, 
after all! How little do they cost me, and how 
foolishly 1 overestimate them! May the Holy 
Spirit show me myself, and in opening my eyes 
may He open my purse. 

Thursday. Bead Luke 22. My Pitcher. 

Whatever my task, though it be only drawing 

water from the well, it may be the token for the 

messengers of the Most High. By my perform- 

287 



WEEK 141. 

ance of it I shall be known to be the Lord's. In 
the doing of it will come my highest honor, my 
connection with the noblest renown. 

Friday. Bead Luke 23. My Herod. 

My Herod is the one on whom I throw, or try 
to throw, the tasks that God has given me to do, 
the problems that God has given me to solve. It 
is all emptiness, for no one can do my work for 
me, or solve my perplexities, but I pretend it to 
myself. Any excuse will deceive me, and I think 
that God is deceived when I am! 

Saturday. Bead Luke 24. My Stupidity. 
The Lord is by my side, and I do not see Him. 
He talks with me as I walk, and I do not hear 
Him. He prepares food for me, and I do not 
thank Him. I see only common men and hear 
only common sounds. Ah, when shall I open my 
eyes, and when shall I unstop my ears? 



288 



WEEK 142. 

WEEK 142. 
Sunday. Bead John 1. My Light. 

The true Light has shone upon me, as upon 
every one that has come into the world. But, 
seeing, have I seen it? As it shines in and 
through the light of the sun, and all things that 
have heen made, do I foolishly see the natural 
light and catch no gleam of the Light behind the 
light? That is to be blind indeed. 

Monday. Read John 2. My Money-Changing. 
I do not set up a bank in the house of God, or 
open my ledger there before men's eyes; but 
what, before the eyes of God, do I bring into the 
sacred precincts? What greeds, what ambitions, 
what worries, what animosities! Were Christ 
to come again with the whip of cords, would He 
lash backs alone, and not also souls? 

Tuesday. Read John 3. My New Birth. 
I am in this beautiful world of God's. Am I 
also in the far more beautiful kingdom of God? 
I belong to the world that passes away— ah, how 
rapidly ! Do I belong to the world that endures— 
ah, how happily and surely? Let me, in the 
midst of all my toiling and getting, remember 
that there is nothing more important to me than 
this. 

Wednesday. Read John 4- My Thirst. 
I know the waters of earth. I have drunk of 
the well of pleasure, the well of knowledge, of 
other wells as promising. And I am as thirsty as 
before. But there is a well from which* I have 
never gone thirsty away, a well whose water 
reaches to the innermost longings, and satisfies 
them wholly. O Jesus Christ, my Joy and my 
Portion forever! 

289 



WEEK 142. 

Thursday. Bead John 5. My Waiting. 

He had waited thirty-eight years for the Healer, 
—that sick man by the pool of Bethesda; but it 
was all as a day, after the Lord had cured him! 
And I, if the Lord bids me wait in my sorrows 
and trials the rest of my life,— yet there will come 
a time when He will take me by the hand, and 
bid me arise, and all my grief will be forgotten in 
that hour. 

Friday. Bead John 6. My Bread. 

I eat; but what do I eat? I eat; but I am not 
fed. The bread I eat is not the true bread, the 
living bread, the life of the Living One. I eat 
ashes, and call it bread; yes, and beg for more 
ashes, and moan because I have not enough. 

Saturday. Bead John 7. My Will. 

Do I know Christ's teachings, know them in- 
wardly, rejoicingly, powerfully? Alas, no! but 
only, or chiefly, with the mind. It is because I 
do not will Christ's will. When His will is my 
will, His wisdom also will be mine, and will shine 
in all my living. 



290 



WEEK 143. 

WEEK 143. 

Sunday. Bead John 8. My Freedom. 

I am to" know the truth, and the truth is to 
make me free. If, then, I feel myself constrained 
and in bondage to anything, it is because I do 
not know the truth. I may know it with the 
head and not with the heart. I may know it with 
the heart and not with the life. At any rate, I do 
not know it. 

Monday. Bead John 9. My Certainty. 
Sceptics may seek to confuse me, but they shall 
not confuse me. Worldlings may ridicule me, but 
they shall not disturb me. One thing I know, and 
that knowledge cannot be shaken: that once I 
was blind, but now I see. I was blind to the 
best things in time and eternity, and now, in all 
their glory, they have entered into my life. 

Tuesday. Bead John 10. My Door. 

Am I seeking other doors than the one Door? 
other entrances to joy? other portals to power? 
other ways to wisdom? If I am, let me turn 
from them with scorn, knowing how empty is the 
hope they hold out. For there is no door but one, 
to all that I wish to reach. 

"Wednesday. Bead John 11. My Resurrection. 

Out of the deaths I die daily, my Resurrection, 
O my Lord! Out of my fears of the death to 
come, my Resurrection, O Christ! Out of all dan- 
ger of the eternal death, my Resurrection, O my 
Saviour! 

Thursday. Bead John 12. My Spikenard. 
It is not much I have that is precious and fra- 
grant; but how happy I am that I have anything 
that is at all fit to pour out at my Saviour's feetl 

291 



WEEK 143. 

The cost? It is a privilege! The trouble? It is 
a joy! The sneers of men? They are my crown! 

Friday. Bead John 13. My Basin. 

In what way am I following my Lord's exam- 
ple, and washing the feet of my brothers, as He 
bade me? What is my basin? What is the 
towel wherewith I gird myself? Though I pos- 
sess many goods, that basin shall be my most 
valued possession. Though my garments are 
many and rich, I shall have no garment so highly 
esteemed. 

Saturday. Bead John 1 4. My Worries. 
Every worry is a direct trangression of my 
Lord's command not to let my heart be troubled. 
It is an admission that I do not believe in God, 
or in my Saviour. It is a proof that the Comforter 
whom Christ sends is not with me. It is a denial 
of my faith, a negation of my religion. 



292 



WEEK 144. 

WEEK 144. 
Sunday. Bead John 15. My Source. 

I am a branch. That I cannot avoid. But of 
what vine am I a branch? Of the True Vine, or 
the false vine? Of the vine whose sap flows eter- 
nally and pure, or of the vine whose sap will soon 
dry up and the stalk wither away? 

Monday. Bead John 16. My Comforter. 
He is the Comforter of the nations, yet He 
deigns to comfort my distresses. He is the sup- 
port of Paul and Luther and all men of might, yet 
He condescends to my feebleness, and does not 
call it condescension. God of very God, one of 
the blessed Trinity, and yet mine! 

Tuesday. Bead John 17. My Glory. 

If even Christ is glorified in His followers, glo- 
rified with the glory which He had with the 
Father before the world was, then surely Christ's 
followers are glorified with Christ. Ah, to seek 
the petty glory of the world, the transitory ap- 
plause of time, when this eternal renown is within 
my reach! • 

Wednesday. Bead John 18. My Denial. 

Not in saying that I do not know Christ; I 
would not say that ; but in saying that I know 
Him, and then not knowing Him. Not in deny- 
ing my Lord, but in confessing Him, and falsely. 
In that is my peril. For between a traitorous 
denial and a hypocritical confession there is 
little to choose. 

Thursday. Bead John 19. My Calvary. 

It is there that I should be, if sin had its way 

with me. It is there that I should suffer, if my 

punishment were what I deserve. I am not there, 

293 



WEEK 144. 

because He was there. I am not suffering, I 
shall not suffer, because He suffered; nay, be- 
cause He suffers still! 

Friday. Read John 20. My Doubts. 

I have had my doubts, but the blood from the 
cross has washed them all away. I have had 
questions, but the wounds in His hands and feet 
have answered them all. If I am ever sceptical, 
it is because I am far from Christ. When He is 
with me, I know! I know! 

Saturday. Read John 21. My Proof. 

If I would show my Lord how I love Him— as I 
would— let me show Him how I love those whom 
He loves. Let me take His place, so far as I can 
take His place, and do the things that He would 
do. Let me minister in His stead and in His 
name. That will be proof to Him that I love 
Him, and all the proof He needs. 



294 



WEEK 145. 

WEEK 145. 

Sunday. Bead Acts 1. My Power. 

If Christ promises power, the power will come ; 
but it will come in the way Christ promises, and 
at the time He names. If I seek from the world, 
from my own wisdom, from my friends, the power 
that Christ promises to send through the Holy 
Spirit, I shall seek forever in vain. 

Monday. Bead Acts 2. My Pentecost. 
Perhaps with the rushing of a mighty wind, 
perhaps with the still, small voice. Perhaps with 
flaming tongues of fire, perhaps in midnight dark- 
ness. What care I how it comes, if only it does 
come? if only the power of the Holy Spirit rests 
upon me, and enables me to work for God? 

Tuesday. Bead Acts 3. My Gifts. 

Silver and gold, if I have it, and if silver and 
gold are needed by any man ; not always, how- 
ever, silver and gold. Often a kind word is the 
best of silver, and a warm handshake is the rich- 
est of gold. My wealth, whatever it is, to his 
need, whatever that is— this must be the rule of 
my giving. 

Wednesday. Bead Acts 4. My Goods. 
Shall I follow the example of the early Chris- 
tians, and hold whatever I have at the call of my 
brothers in Christ? Yes, if it is also the call of 
Christ! Not every call of man is to be heeded, 
for man's own sake ; but every call of the Master 
is to be heeded for the Master's sake, and for 
man's. 

Thursday. Bead Acts 5. My Withholding. 

"When am I akin to Ananias? Whenever, hav- 
ing dedicated to Christ my all, as I did when I 
joined Christ's church, I hold back from His ser- 

295 



WEEK 145. 

vice and refuse to His request any part of my all. 
Then I am brother to Ananias, and his fate, what- 
ever befalls my outward body, befalls the body of 
my soul. 

Friday. Bead Acts 6. My Serving. 

Whether I am a deacon or not, have I not some 
deacon's work to do? Yes, while there are poor 
1 know, while there are hungry I can feed, while 
there are weak I can strengthen. If each Chris- 
tian is a king and a priest unto God, certainly 
each Christian is also a deacon. 

Saturday. Bead Acts 7. My Witnessing. 
In the face of flying stones? Sometimes flying 
jibes are as hard and cut as deeply. Before 
pressing throngs of angry foes? Sometimes in- 
different friends are opposition quite as harmful. 
But however God appoints, in quiet ways or 
tragic, I am to bear witness with my life, as 
Stephen bore witness with his; and it is to be to 
the death,— in ten minutes, or twenty years. 



296 



WEEK 146. 

WEEK 146. 

Sunday. Bead Acts 8. My Chariot. 

Along some road of life a chariot is moving, and 
I am ro draw near to the charioteer and explain 
to him the Word. I am not wise to explain it, 
but it will he given me in that hour what I shall 
say. How shall I know which chariot, of all that 
are moving along the road, is my chariot? Ah, if 
I approach the wrong one, no harm will be done! 

Monday. Bead Acts 9. My Vision. 

God grant me, on every Damascus road, a vis- 
ion of the Lord whom I am persecuting! God 
show me, whenever I harm any of Christ's follow- 
ers, Whom it is that I am harming! God cause 
me to fail, whenever my success would injure the 
Kingdom of Christ! 

Tuesday. Bead Acts 10. My Prejudice. 
If there is a man upon earth whom I call com- 
mon and unclean, may the Lord cleanse me of 
that uncleanness in my soul! Lift me, O Christ, 
into that rare charity which loves all men, and 
sees in every man something to honor. 

Wednesday. Bead Aqts 11. My Cleaving. 
If " with purpose of heart " I " cleave unto the 
Lord," all good things will cleave to me. That 
purpose will animate all other purposes, and give 
strength to all my living. All my perseverance 
will be made more persistent by it, and it will 
lead me into the success I crave. 

Thursday. Bead Acts 12. My Chain. 
Prison walls are around me, and prison chains 
are upon me. That they are not walls of stone or 
chains of iron makes no difference in my dire 
captivity. Chains of the spirit are as fearful as 

297 



WEEK 146. 

chains of the body, and the walls that Satan 
builds are as terrible as any made by mortal 
mason. But He that opened the doors for Peter 
can open for me this severer prison. 

Friday. Bead Acts IS. My Blindness. 
If I am an Elymas, let me suffer the merciful 
fate which he suffered. Far better be blind from 
the sun for a season than blind forever from the 
Sun of Righteousness. Far better be led about 
this world by the hand, than cast hand and foot 
out of the heavenly world. 

Saturday. Bead Acts 14- My Sacrifices. 
How do men sacrifice to me? Whenever they 
bestow upon me any credit that belongs to God, 
as for any gift that He has given me, or any tal- 
ent that He has bestowed upon me. Let me not 
receive honor from men. Woe unto me when all 
men speak well of me! Woe unto me when I fall 
under that most subtle of all temptations, and 
accept credit for what is not at all mine. 



298 



WEEK 147. 

WEEK 147. 
Sunday. Bead Acts 15. My Preferences. 
I will learn to distinguish essentials of faith 
from non-essentials of form. I will learn my 
brother's wisdom and I will remember my own 
frequent folly. I will prove all things, the views 
and methods I dislike as well as those I like. 
And I will hold fast to the good. 

Monday. Bead Acts 16. My Macedonian. 
He may not live across the seas. He may not 
live in another city. He may live in my own 
town; nay, in my own house. And for years he 
may have been calling upon me to help him. O 
thou missionary God, help me to hear and heed 
all calls for help! 

Tuesday. Bead Acts 17. My Unknown God. 
Is my God an unknown God? Do I worship 
Him ignorantly? Is He a stranger to me, or half 
a stranger? How little time I give to communion 
with Him! I could not get acquainted with a 
petty man in so slight a time ; how can I expect 
to know so easily the Lord of heaven and earth? 

Wednesday. Bead Acts 18. My Confidence. 
When God, for whom I speak, bids me not to 
fear nor to hold my peace, then fear is mistrust 
of Him, and silence is disobedience to Him. 
What fear is so great as the fear I should have 
of disobeying my God? 

Thursday. Bead Acts 19. My Profit. 

Shall I follow Christ so long as it costs me noth- 
ing, and leave Christ as soon as my purse is light- 
ened? Ah, what is in Christ's purse! When I 
leave Him, I leave the silver and gold of all the 
earth, and the cattle upon a thousand hills! 

299 



WEEK 147. 

Friday. Bead Acts 20. My Giving. 

Let me so give as to show that 1 really believe 
it to be happier than receiving. Let me not ask 
to receive anything except larger opportunities 
of giving. Christ was the largest giver of all 
time, and He said that giving is more blessed 
than receiving. He knows. 

Saturday. Bead Acts 21. My Readiness. 
Prison or death, or any other fate that men 
call misfortune— let me be ready for it all, if God 
sees best to send it. I will not call it misfortune, 
if God sends it, or allow others to pity me. It is 
the best of good fortune, whatever it is, if it is 
the lot which God has picked out for me. 



300 



WEEK 148. 

WEEK 148. 

Sunday. Bead Acts 22. My Citizenship. 

Am I a citizen of the Kingdom? Am I proud 
of it? Do I rely upon that citizenship for my 
safety? Do I depend upon it for my joy? Have 
I other honors of which I am more proud? Are 
there other allegiances that bind me more closely? 

Monday. Bead Acts 23. My Cheer. 

If I am giving testimony for my Master, let me 
count that fact my passport of safety. Let it be 
my good cheer, that, as I have testified for Him 
thus far, I am to testify for Him farther, even as 
far and as long as His Kingdom needs me. And 
longer than that I do not want to speak in this 
world. 

Tuesday. Bead Acts 24. My Conscience. 
Ah, but it needs endeavor, strenuous exercise, 
urgent will and purpose, to have a conscience 
always Void of offence toward God and toward 
men! By no lax dallying is that great boon to be 
won. Not for an instant is it to be held subsidi- 
ary to other aims. My conscience is a jealous 
mistress. Ah, but a beautiful one ! 

Wednesday. Bead Acts 25. My Appeal. 
Not to Caesar, not to any man, shall be my ap- 
peal. But let me not say this, and then in my 
heart, or with my desires and envies and fears, 
make such an appeal to men and the affairs and 
powers of men. Let me hold my life serenely 
above what men can do or say to me. 

Thursday. Bead Acts 26. My Visions. 

Heavenly visions, indeed! They have been 

visions of my Saviour, glorified, loving, mighty, 

my Master, my Guide, my everlasting King! 

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WEEK 148. 

They have held me entranced; and then I have 
gone away and straightway forgotten them, and 
straightway belied my nobler self. How often, 
oh, how often, I have been disobedient to the 
heavenly vision! 

Friday. Bead Acts 27. My Belief. 

When God comes to me, in any storm of life, 
and tells me that all is well with me and with 
those that are in the ship with me, and bids me 
be of good cheer,— how often He does thus come ; 
as often as the storms themselves come!— let me 
say with Paul, " I believe God, and it shall be 
even so." What, otherwise, is the use of hearing 
God at all? 

Saturday. Bead Acts 28. My Vipers. 

Out of any fire one is liable to come and fasten 
upon my hand. Vipers of falsehood and calumny. 
Vipers of misgiving and worry. Vipers of harsh- 
ness. Vipers of injustice. The woods are full of 
vipers, upon all shores! And I am to hold myself 
calm. And I am to shake them off into the fire. 
And I am to take no harm. 



302 



WEEK 149. 

WEEK 149. 

Sunday. Read Romans 1. My Pride. 

Be it my glory, to glory in the right things. Be 
it rny shame, to be ashamed of the things that are 
right. If I do not glory in Christ, how can Christ 
ever glory in me? If I am ashamed of the gospel, 
how shall I by the gospel he rejected! 

Monday. Read Romans 2. My Legality. 

If I do not in my heart the deeds of the law, 
what avails it that my body does them? The 
Judge of the law is not outside, but His throne is 
within my soul. How long shall I befool myself 
with looking upon my exterior life, and forgetting 
the evil within? 

Tuesday. Read Romans 3. My Justification. 

Verily I have sinned, and fallen short of God's 
glory. What have I done but sin? But I have 
not fallen short of God's grace. I am unjust, but 
He is the Justifier. I am evil, through and 
through; but He, through and through, is Love. 

Wed. Read Romans 4- My Resurrection. 

I have been buried in sin, as Christ in the 
grave. But He, when He rose, stretched forth His 
hand to me, and lo! I am risen with Him, I from 
my grave as He from His. It is a better resurrec- 
tion, this of mine, than that of Lazarus. 

Thursday. Read Romans 5. My Peace. 

Since I am freed from the dead body of sin, 
why do I not move freely? Since I am ran- 
somed from darkness, why do I not sing in the 
light? Shall the child of the King despond, now 
that he has found the King's palace and the 
King? 

303 



WEEK 149. 

Friday. Read Romans 6. My Service. 

I must serve. It.is not mine to command, how- 
ever I feign it. Shall I serve an evil master, or 
the Just One? For I must serve, but 1 can 
choose my master. 

Saturday. Read Romans 7. My Will. 

I will the good. I will the bad. I mourn over 
my folly. 1 rejoice in it. I shrink from wicked- 
ness. 1 long for a chance at it. Alas, my pitiful 
will, how weak it is, how pliant, how fluctuating! 
and how it needs to be guided and upheld by the 
just and mighty will of God! 



304 



WEEK 150. 

WEEK 150. 

Sunday. Read Romans 8. My Helper. 

If God is for me— nay, since God is for me— who 
can be against me? What foe within, of all foes 
the most deadly and insidious, since He is within? 
And what foe without, however bold and inso- 
lent, since He is the Lord of heaven and earth? 

Monday. Read Romans 9. My Free Will. 

I am surrounded by a thousand opportunities 
and incitements to goodness. God means me to 
be good. But He also means me to choose good- 
ness, not to have it forced upon me. It is His 
will that I shall be able to fall as well as rise. 
How am I recompensing His trust in me? 

Tuesday. Read Romans 10. My Listening. 

If belief comes of hearing, and salvation comes 
of believing, surely I am saved. I have heard 
very much ; I have heard the whole gospel. Ah, 
but have I heard it, or only my ears? Has my 
soul listened? Has my life listened? Such hear- 
ing only is for salvation. 

Wednesday. Read Romans 11. My Fear. 
When I vaunt myself and am puffed up, with 
conceit of goodness or pride of attainment, let 
me look at those that have fallen. So much bet- 
ter than I, so much wiser and stronger than I, 
and yet they have fallen! And if they, why not 
I? Ah, let me humble myself before God! 

Thurs. Read Rom. 12. My Transformation. 
From fear to trust, from flesh to spirit, from 
envy to content, from weakness to power, from 
folly to wisdom, from ugliness to beauty, from 
sorrow to joy, from earth to heaven! Indeed I 

305 



WEEK 150. 

must be renewed for this transformation, and no 
one but the Infinite Father can effect it. 

Friday. Read Romans 13^ My Debt. 
Though no man loves me, I am in a love-debt 
to all men; but Christ loves me with a love 
greater than the love of all the world, and all the 
world is His, and He bids me join Him in His 
love of all the world. Ah, but this is a blessed 
way of paying the endless debt I owe to Christ! 

Saturday. Read Romans 14* My Judging. 
I am not to judge any one, save one alone,— 
myself. I can know myself very poorly, and yet 
I can know myself better than I know any one 
else. I can know myself well enough to be 
ashamed to judge any one else! 



306 



WEEK 151. 

WEEK 151. 

Sunday. Bead Bomans 15. My Pleasure. 
Do I take my pleasure with my Saviour? If I 
do, I take my pleasure in the pleasure of others. 
Is my satisfaction a lonely one? Then it will not 
be satisfaction very long. 

Monday. Bead Bom. 16. My Fellow Workers. 
I am the stronger for all the strong men about 
me. My toil is the happier for all their cheerful 
labor. The swing Of their activity carries me 
with it. Blessed be God, for all the comrade 
workers He has given me! 

Tuesday. Bead First Cor. 1. My Wisdom. 
Let me not seek to he wise above my Lord. 
What unwisdom is more foolish than to vaunt 
one's self above the God of wisdom? When I 
would teach, let me first learn. ; and when I would 
learn, let me first empty myself of pride. 

Wednesday. Bead First Cor. 2. My Mind. 
To have the mind of Christ! Ah, what honor, 
what glory, is so mysteriously exalted? To think 
God's thoughts after Him in human science— that 
is wonderful ; but to think with the mind of God 
—that is the climax of faith. 

Thurs. Bead First Cor. 3. My Foundation. 
Whether I know it or not, daily and hourly I 
am building my life. I am building it upon some- 
thing,— gold or hay, silver or stubble. Some day 
it is to be tested, building and foundation and all. 
Ah, what of the trivial affairs that occupy me is 
to be compared with this affair about which I 
think so little ? 

Friday. Bead First Cor. 4- My Stewardship. 

Only one thing is required of me,— faithfulness 

to the task and powers entrusted to me. Not 

307 



WEEK 151. 

faithfulness to-morrow, but to-day. Not fidelity 
to an ideal, but the actual. Not loyalty to some 
impossible vision, but loyalty to the duty of the 
hour. 

Saturday. Bead First Cor. 5. My Purity. 
How easy is contamination! How little of evil 
leaven will leaven the whole lump of my life! 
How necessary is daily purifying, hourly watch- 
fulness, instant readiness to repel the assaults of 
the devil! 



308 



WEEK 152. 

WEEK 152. 

Sunday. Bead First Cor. 6. My Body. 
My body a temple of the Holy Spirit of God! 
How impossible that seems, knowing all the evil 
that is in me! How possible it seems, knowing 
all the mercy that is in God! 

Monday. Bead First Cor. 7. My World. 

It is my world. All things are mine, in Christ, 
the maker of all things. But it is a bubble world, 
though it is mine, and Christ's. Its fashion passes 
away. I will use it while it lasts, but it shall not 
use me. 

Tuesday. Bead First Cor. 8. My Liberty. 

Grant, O God of my conscience, in whom I walk 
freely and boldly, that my freedom enslave not 
any one, and my boldness put not any to shame. 
Help me to live not as alone, but always as by the 
side of my brother ; who may in many ways be 
stronger than I, but in some ways also weaker 
than I. 

Wednesday. Bead First Cor. 9. My Reward. 

I have a right to my reward ; but let me look 
carefully what reward I shall claim. It must 
not be a lower reward when I may claim the 
higher. It must not be a temporal reward if that 
would shut out the eternal recompense. 

Thursday. Bead First Cor. 10. My Escape. 

Am I tempted? Is it hard to withstand? Am 
I almost persuaded to evil? In the temptation 
itself is hidden a way of escape, if I will seize 
upon it. I need not look to another hour; my 
salvation is in this very moment, this time of my 
testing and weakness. 

309 



WEEK 152. 

Fri. Bead First Cor. 11. My Remembrance. 

When I bethink myself that Christ desired me 
to remember Him, how am I exalted! That I, a 
dust-grain of His universe, should take thought 
of Him ! And then, when I bethink myself how 
empty is my life of that remembrance, how am I 
filled with shame and remorse! 

Saturday. Bead First Cor. 12. My Gifts. 
I cannot speak, but I can pray. I cannot evan- 
gelize, but I can testify. I cannot teach, but I 
can give. Something is given me ; shall I fail to 
use it because it is not everything? 



310 



WEEK 153. 

WEEK 153. 

Sunday. Read First Cor. 13. My Love. 
What is my love? Is it the desire to be served, 
or to serve? Is it jealous absorption, or eager 
self-giving? Does it suffer long, or make others 
suffer long? Is it unfailing, or fluctuating? There 
is a love that is greater than even faith and hope. 
There is a love that is hardly to be called a grace 
at all. Which is mine? 

Monday. Read First Cor. 14. My Edifying. 
I am not so unwise but I have some wisdom 
that will help others. I am not so weak but there 
is some one whom I can strengthen. My life is 
not so ruinous but there is some life that I can 
build up. And I shall best build up my own life 
if I seek ever to build up the lives of other men. 

Tuesday. Read First Cor. 15. My Victory. 
If Christ has conquered death for me, why do I 
make His conquest of no effect through my fear 
and dread? If death has a sting for me, my own 
death or the death of my beloved, then Christ, so 
far as I am concerned, has not conquered death. 
Ah, is it not, rather, that He has not yet con- 
quered me? 

Wed. Read First Cor. 16. My Stanchness. 
I can quit me like a man, I can be strong, but 
only as I watch unceasingly, only as I stand fast 
in the faith. If, even in the faith, I stand un- 
steadily ; if, even in the faith, I keep a poor guard 
against the allurements of the world and its sore 
temptations, I shall not acquit myself as a man, 
but as a child and a weakling. 

Thurs. Read Second Cor. 1. My Consistency. 

In God shall be my yea and my nay and my 

Amen. If I agree always with Him, I shall not 

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WEEK 153. 

mind that I do not always agree with myself. He 
shall be my consistency, before my conscience 
and before men. 

Friday. Bead Second Cor. 2. My Savor. 
If I am of God, I shall be a test to other men, a 
standard, a praise or a condemnation. I shall 
not judge them, but God within me will judge 
them. The Christ-life will judge them. Do I 
shrink from this, as if it separated me from oth- 
ers? Nay, it joins me with Him, and with His! 

Sat. Read II. Cor. 3. My Transformation. 
How shall I become Christlike? By looking 
upon Christ. Not by any deeds of mine, but by 
my love. I do not become like Christ by imita- 
tion, but by association. This is because it is not 
I that makes the transformation— how impossible 
for me!— but Christ, of His great love. 



312 



WEEK 154. 

WEEK 154. 

Sunday. Bead Second Cor. 4- My Affliction. 
It is a light affliction, though it seems heavy at 
the time. It is light, because my Saviour carries 
it with me. It is but for a moment, though it 
seems sadly long. It is transitory, because though 
it lasted all my life, it would last only an instant 
in eternity. 

Monday. Read Second Cor. 5. My Newness. 
If at any time I grow tired of my life, if it seems 
stale and unprofitable, let me know in that hour 
that I have wandered from Christ. For if I live 
with Him and in Him and He with me and in me, 
all will be new in my life from day to day. Every- 
thing will be fresh and interesting. 

Tuesday. Bead Second Cor. 6. My Alliances. 
Am I unequally yoked with any unbeliever? 
In society, in business, in pleasure, do I seek 
with eagerness the company of God's people? 
When I seek out the unbeliever, is it that I may 
turn him to belief? Let me rejoice in God's 
people., even as I rejoice in God. 

Wednesday. Bead II. Cor. 7. My Contrition. 

I am not to rejoice in all kinds of sorrow. There 
is a sorrow for worldly things which does despite 
to my Father in heaven. But there is a godly 
sorrow for sin, working repentance, in which I 
am to rejoice, and will rejoice. The experience 
is not pleasant, any more than the surgeon's 
knife ; but the health is sweet. 

Thursday. Bead II. Cor. 8. My Liberality. 
Let not mine be the gathering that impover- 
ishes, but the scattering that increases. Let me 
learn so to give as to grow. May the spirit of the 

313 



WEEK 154. 

great Giver animate me. Let me be a faithful 
steward, that mine may be the mastership of 
what I have. For I know that there is no having 
by hoarding. 

Friday. Bead II. Cor. 9. My Thankfulness. 
It is an unspeakable gift; but I am to try to 
speak it. It passes knowledge, but I am to try 
to measure it. Not all tongues in all time could 
tell it, but my tongue, in this present time, is to 
tell it. For if only eternity can express it, then 
surely it is time to begin the gratitude! 

Saturday. Bead II. Cor. 10. My Glorying. 
If I boast, let me glory in the Lord. Let it be 
a vaunting of what God has done for me and 
through me. Indeed, what else have I, of which 
to boast? What else has any man? If I glory 
in anything as if it were my own, I condemn my- 
self in my boasting. . 



314 



WEEK 155. 

WEEK 155. 

Sunday. Bead Second Cor. 11. My Perils. 
Let me make my perils, my sorrows, my suffer- 
ings, occasions of glorying, even as Paul did with 
his. They are tokens that God thinks me worth 
testing. Or, they are even evidences that God 
deems me able to bear the most undoubted wit- 
ness to His power, the witness that is borne in 
trials. Either way, they are my highest honor. 

Monday. Bead II. Cor. 12. My Weakness. 
Thorns in the flesh? Yes, many of them ! Who 
has not? But such thorns as Paul had,— ah, how 
few of us have them ! Thorns by patient courage 
encrusted with jewels. Thorns by wise insight 
become agents of healing. Thorns by union with 
the Lord Jesus Christ become crowns, even such 
as He wore upon the cross. 

Tuesday. Bead Second Cor. 13. My Testing. 

Need I wait for the testing of the Lord? Why 
may I not test my faith myself? Why may I not 
put myself to the proof in all the ways of hard- 
ship and endurance that God could use? Shall I 
build a character and not try the building to see 
whether it will stand the stress of the elements, 
the strain of time? 

Wed. Bead Galatians 1. My Popularity. 
Am I seeking to please men, or God? Can I 
not please both? Perhaps; but I cannot try to 
please both. My desire must be solely toward 
God, or it is not toward Him at all. I cannot 
serve God and mammon, for both are jealous; 
and God is rightly jealous. 

Thursday. Bead Galatians 2. My Crucifixion. 

If I have been crucified with Christ, I can no 

longer live to the world. If I am living to the 

315 



WEEK 155. 

world, I have not been crucified with Christ. I 
have not entered into His sorrow. I have not 
entered into His joy. I have no part in his tri- 
umphs. I am not living in His world at all. 

Friday. Read Galatians 3. My Faith. 
How great need have I to be made just! How 
deeply is wrong become a part of me! How im- 
possible I find it to eradicate that wickedness! 
1 have tried every way but the one way that is 
efficacious. I have tried every agent but the One 
that can do it; that has done it, for uncounted 
millions. O Lord, increase my faith! 

Saturday. Read Galatians 4- My Bondage. 
Let me not, having known Christ, the splendors 
and the joys of His gospel, turn back again to the 
weak and beggarly rudiments of the world. Let 
not the ransomed slave seek again his chains. 
Let me recognize my liberty, let me glory in my 
privileges, let me use my new powers. Let me 
not turn my back on Canaan and long after the 
fleshpots of Egypt. 



316 



WEEK 156. 

WEEK 156. 

Sunday. Read Galatians 5. My Fruits. 
If I am bearing the fruits of the Spirit, shall 
not I know it? Better, will not all around me 
know it? And if I fear that I am not bearing the 
fruits of the Spirit, that fear is quite sure to be 
justified in a barren life. Ah, let me be rooted 
and grounded in the love of God and man! 

Monday. Read Galatians 6. My Burden. 
I am to bear my own burden. I am to bear the 
burdens of my fellow beings. I am to let them 
bear my burdens! I am to live my own life. I 
am to live in the lives of others. I am to let 
others live in my life. Helping and being helped,— 
ah, how much that sums up the Christian life! 

Tuesday. ReadEphesiansl. My Revelation. 
What I know of God and of all good things I 
know not of myself. It is God who has opened 
the windows of my soul and let in all the light I 
see. If I would know more, I must be more ac- 
quainted with God. I must withdraw myself into 
the recesses of God's Spirit, if I would range 
abroad among the glories of His worlds. 

Wednesday. ReadEphesiansl. My Building. 
What is the eternal edifice I am rearing for my 
soul to dwell in? Is it the hut of my foolish de- 
sires? Is it the leaning tower of my selfish am- 
bitions? Is it the subterranean storehouse of my 
base greed? Ah, let me build with God and His 
saints, that my home may be a palace of heaven! 

Thursday. Read Ephesians 3. My Strength. 
My power is in what is within and not what is 
outside. My power is in what is given me and 
not in what I get for myself. I am strengthened 
not by possessions that can be handled and 

317 



WEEK 156. 

weapons that can be felt, but by the Spirit of the 
living God. I belong to the ilnseen forces— that 
is, when my earthly passions subside and I am 
of any force at all. 

Friday. Bead Ephesians 4> My Stature. 
No man is a dwarf. No man but may grow. 
No man but may grow to the highest. No man 
farthest from God but may come nearest to God. 
No depth but may become highest height. And 
I, even I, may attain to the measure of the stature 
of the fulness of Christ! 

Saturday. Bead Ephesians 5. My Time. 
My minutes are golden, my hours are great dia- 
monds. Every day is a crown, and every year is 
a king's ransom! It is by these hours and days 
and years that I am to buy up my kingdom. 
Alas, if I am a beggar still, I know where my 
kingdom has gone! 



318 



WEEK 157. 

WEEK 157. 

Sunday. Read Ephesians 6. My Armor. 
I must have some armor, for the assault of evil 
is fierce. I must have some armor, for I am 
weak. Shall it he bravado? pride? philosophy? 
Ah, how flimsy protection do they afford! and 
how secure is my shelter within the armor pro- 
vided by the Captain of all salvation ! 

Monday. Read Philippians 1. My Life. 
If my life is Christ, as was Paul's, then life is 
gain to me, and death is gain to me, and nothing 
can ever be loss to me. To be Christ's is to be 
Prosperity's, and Safety's, and Joy's. And if my 
life does not mean this to me, it means nothing to 
me that is worth while. 

Tuesday. Read Philippians 2, My Salvation. 
How can I work out my own salvation? Is not 
all salvation of Christ? Yes, and it is He that 
works out my salvation, in me and through me. 
He sets up anew His cross in my life. He as- 
cends it again ; and lo ! I hang there with Him! 

Wednesday. Read Philippians 3. My Goal. 

I have many goals ; let me have but one goal. 
Mine is a crowded past; let me forget it all. 
Mine is an ambition-filled future; let me simplify 
it all. My calling makes many demands upon 
me ; I will subordinate them all. I have only one 
calling, and that calling has only one goal: to be 
like Christ. 

Thurs. Read Philippians 4- My Thoughts. 

I am not responsible for anything so much as 

for my thoughts. It needs not wealth to buy 

good thoughts. It needs not station or authority 

319 



WEEK 157. 

to exile bad thoughts. The best of all the uni- 
verse is freely open to me here, if I will. 

Friday. Bead Colossians 1. My Keconciling. 
How I have fought against the Father! By 
what outrages have I tried Him! What taunts 
have I flung against Him! How have I despised 
His wrath! Surely if any one ever needed an 
advocate, it is I. And surely if any one ever had 
an Advocate, that one is also I. 

Saturday. Bead Colossians 2. My Wisdom, 
Continually 1 find myself seeking wisdom else- 
where than in Christ. Continually I look for 
wisdom from my own contriving, or from the 
devices of men. But Christ alone is wise. I have 
known it, I have proved it; and why do I go 
about my living as if I knew it not? 



320 



WEEK 158. 

WEEK 158. 
Sunday. Bead Colossians 3. My Longings. 
I am what I desire. I throw myself into my 
ambitions. If they are worthy, they make me 
worthy. If they are ignoble, before long I also 
become ignoble. If they are attached to the 
fleeting things of earth, it is impossible for me to 
grow into fitness for the endless life. 

Monday. Bead Colossians 4> My Speech. 
Gracious and salty! Is my speech what the 
speech of a child of God should be? Is it loving? 
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it bold? Does it leave 
its hearers happier? Does it leave them stronger? 
Does it leave them with a merrier light in the 
ey.e and with a more cheerful heart? 

Tuesday. Bead First Thess. 1. My Example. 
In spite of myself, and even contrary to my de- 
sire and earnest hope, my life becomes an exam- 
ple. Unworthy as I am, insignificant as I am, 
men copy me, women copy me, little children 
copy me, friends copy me, strangers copy me, and 
I am copied by those that never saw me, but 
copy from those that copy from me. And all this 
without my knowing it, or their knowing it! 

Wed. Bead First Thess. 2. My Reputation. 
Paul sought to please, not men, but God. In 
this lay his strength with both men and God. 
Men he could not please, fundamentally, except 
as he first tried to please God. God he could not 
please except as he placed God's desires first 
in his life. Is this, which was at the heart of 
Paul's life, at the heart of mine also? 

Thurs. Bead First Thess. 3. My Firmness. 

It is far from enough that I go over to the 

Lord's side. I must stand there steadfast. And 

321 



WEEK 158. 

I must do more than stand there ; I must work 
there. And I must do more than work there ; I 
must win others to stand there and work there. 
So much is involved in coming out on the Lord's 
side! 

Friday. Bead First Thess. 4. My Heaven. 
Ever to be with the Lord! Let me seek no 
other heaven than that. Where He is, sin cannot 
enter. Where He is, sorrow cannot he. Where 
He is, are all that are worth knowing. Where 
He is, is the work that is worth doing. Where 
He is, there are powers unlimited, and pleasures 
for evermore. 

Sat. Bead First Thess. 5. My Expectation. 
Not in any brooding or melancholy, but in joy- 
ful anticipation, I would be ever expecting the 
end of my life, the end of the world. Let it come 
as a thief in the night, it shall not be night when 
it comes, nor shall the messenger be received but 
with outstretched arms and a happy smile. 



322 



WEEK 159. 

WEEK 159. 

Sunday. Bead II. Thess. 1. My Judgment. 
Do I look forward with certainty to the coming 
great day of judgment when the naming fire will 
be the wrath of my God upon all disobedient? 
when the light of shining peace will be the joy of 
my God in all obedient souls? Oh, let me live 
day by day in that fear and in that hope! 

Monday. Bead II. Thess. 2. My Establishing. 
It is possible for me to become so firm in the 
truth and in the practice of it that lies shall no 
longer turn me here and there, either the lies of 
man or of Satan or of my own foolish heart. And 
what peace will that be! What peace, and what 
power! Grant it, I pray Thee, through Thy 
grace, Lord Jesus! 

Tuesday. Bead II. Thess. 3. My Patience. 
" The love of God and the patience of Christ"! 
Love and patience— the active and the enduring, 
the outgoing power and the power at home! I 
shall be well equipped indeed if the Lord direct 
my heart into these two. 

Wednesday. Bead L Timothy 1. My Faith. 
Why does Paul write so earnestly of " a faith 
unfeigned " ? Because it is so easy to feign faith. 
It is so easy to cheat ourselves, and others also, 
into the belief that we have a faith that we have 
not, nor even the glimmerings of it. We test our 
other possessions, but we have no possession 
that so needs testing as our faith. 

Thursday. Bead I. Timothy 2 . My Mediator. 

When the unseen God seems vague and far 

away, I have Christ, who is near, and has been 

seen of men. When the almighty God seems too 

323 



WEEK 159. 

awful for approach, I have Christ, who took little 
children in His arms. When the just God seems 
implacable in His wrath, I have Christ, who will 
forgive till seventy times seven. 

Friday. Bead L Timothy 3. My Bishopric. 
To me, even to me, has God given a diocese. 
I have a company, large or small, over whom I 
am set as leader in holy things, as example and 
admonisher, as friend and protector and teacher. 
If I do not anything else, this is to be done. If I 
fail everywhere else, in this I dare not fail. 

Saturday. Bead I. Timothy 4- My Profit. 
I must take heed where 1 find my profit. For 
there is profit in many things, but there is great 
and eternal profit in few things. And if I get the 
lesser profit from the lesser things, I shall surely 
become a little man; but if I get the greater 
profit from the great things, I shall become a 
great soul. 



324 



WEEK 160. 

WEEK 160. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Timothy 5. My Household. 
If I care not for my own household, how am I 
worse than an unbeliever! Indeed, what belief 
have I in the great things of the gospel, if I do 
not desire them first for my own? How have I 
laid hold of eternity, if I have not laid hold of my 
dear ones for eternity? 

Monday. Bead 1 Timothy 6. My Contentment. 
If I have money, it is life, to be used for the 
purposes of life. If I have not money, I may 
still have life, and all the uses of life. Godliness 
is gain. Godliness is wealth. Godliness is all 
the gain and all the wealth that a Christian dares 
to set his heart upon. 

Tuesday. Bead 2 Timothy 1. My Confidence. 
If my belief rested in my own wisdom, it would 
indeed be hesitancy ; but it is firmly based upon 
a Person, who is Wisdom itself. If my reliance 
were upon myself, it would indeed be fear ; but I 
rely upon a Person, who is Strength itself. My 
confidence is based upon the Rock that underlies 
all rocks. 

Wednesday. Bead 2 Tim. 2. My Hardship. 

I am a soldier on service. It is no hardship for 
a soldier to fight ; that is his glory and his delight. 
It is no final hardship for a soldier to avoid the 
entanglements of the world that would keep him 
from righting, however for the moment it may 
seem grievous. If that were a hardship, he would 
be no true soldier. 

Thursday. Bead 2 Timothy 3. My Bible. 

Here is the inspired Volume. How do I know 

that it is inspired? Because it inspires me! Be- 

325 



WEEK 160. 

cause it is profitable more than any other book is, 
and in a way no other book is. Because it is 
complete for me. I have never found it wanting. 
I have never gone to it in vain. It is alone among 
books. It is the Word of God. 

Friday. Bead 2 Timothy 4- My Course. 
I am to fight, but not forever. I am to run, but 
the long course has an end. Battles are not for- 
ever. Strain and stress are not forever. Possi- 
ble defeat is not forever to be struggled against. 
Peace comes at last. Victory comes at last. 
Crown comes at last. And it is only a little way 
ahead. 

Saturday. Bead Titus 1. My Purity. 

My heart makes my world. If it is defiled, my 
world is loathsome. If it is pure, my world 
shines white and beautiful. What I am is reflected 
back from everything I see. It is an easy and a 
comprehensive way to make a lovely world, this 
planting of God's loveliness within. 



326 



WEEK 161. 

WEEK 161. 
Sunday. Bead Titus 2. My Sobriety. 

This is a world, not for gloom, but for sober- 
ness. The issues of life are too tremendous for 
trifling. While eternity is at stake, shall I play 
with time? My heart shall be light, for Christ is 
with me in the way. My steps shall be steady, 
for Christ is at the end of the way. 

Monday. Bead Titus 3. My Begeneration. 

How I need renewing in the spirit, a purifying 
from the world, a change of nature! How I need 
to be lifted up from the old life, to be lifted up so 
far that the old life will be out of sight, forgotten 
forever! And I cannot lift myself an inch from 
the earth. Ah, but I can be_lifted up! 

Tuesday. Bead Philemon. My Intercession. 

Christ is my Great Intercessor, but I also am to 
be an intercessor. I am to place myself between 
all that have wronged and all that have been 
wronged, and try to bring them together. Be- 
tween men that have wronged and men that have 
been wronged ; yes, and between men that have 
wronged and God who has been wronged. Let 
me strive for the beatitude of the peacemaker. 

Wednesday. Bead Hebrews i. My Angels. 

I shall think of them as accompanying me 
about all my ways, beautiful, great, pure spirits, 
strong to protect and uphold, wise to direct, lov- 
ing to comfort. They have access to the Throne 
on high. They are mighty to help. Ah, but there 
is One that is greater than they all, wiser, and 
more loving. It is He that sitteth upon the 
Throne! It is He that is nearer than any angel. 

327 



WEEK 161. 

Thursday. Read Hebrews 2. My Opportunity. 

If I do not use the chance I have, where and 
how, through all the length of ages, may I hope 
for another chance of salvation? I see how every 
refusal confirms me in refusal. When I make the 
Great Refusal, how will it not invincibly confirm 
me in refusal? Ah, but I shall not make it! 

Friday. Read Hebreivs 3. My Hardening. 

Every yielding to temptation hardens my heart. 
Every seeking of evil hardens my heart. Every 
excuse for sin hardens my heart. Every longing 
after sin hardens my heart. Every association 
with evil-doers hardens my heart. Every minute 
spent away from my Saviour hardens my heart. 
And every hardening of my heart stamps upon it 
more and more deeply the eternal doom. 

Saturday. Read Hebrews ^. My Rest. 

Tossed about in the storm of passion and temp- 
tation, there is yet a haven for me. That haven 
is in the heart of Him who was tossed about in 
every storm that assails me, beaten against every 
rock that threatens me, swallowed up in every 
darkness that hangs over me like a pall. There 
is my rest, in the heart of Christ! 



328 



WEEK 162. 

WEEK 162. 

Sunday. Bead Hebrews 5. My High Priest. 
I, who am bidden to help others, how greatly do 
I myself need help! How weak am I, who am to 
strengthen others, and how foolish, I who am to 
give others counsel! If I have not a High Priest, 
how can I be a priest? If I have not a Saviour, 
how can I save? 

Monday. Bead Hebrews 6. My Anchor. 

Everywhere sand! Sand, sand, drifting sand, 
in which no anchor holds! And the storms of 
life beat my boat about, while there is no harbor 
in sight. Ah, but I can throw my anchor upward! 
There is anchorage there that holds, and there is 
such mooring nowhere else. 

Tuesday. Bead Hebrews 7. My Intercessor. 
I need to be saved unto the uttermost. Yes, 
for I have sinned unto the uttermost. Yes, for I 
have wandered unto the uttermost. Nothing less 
than the highest can reach to my depths; and 
nothing less than the highest is given me for my 
Intercessor. 

Wednesday. Bead Hebrews 8. My Covenant. 
It shall be a new covenant, this that I make 
with the Most High. A new covenant, because I 
want a new life. A new covenant, because I 
have a new life, the old things being gone forever. 
A new covenant, because it is one newly made 
for me by my Saviour; for me, and for me only, 
among the sons of men. 

Thursday. Bead Hebrews 9. My Conscience. 

Does my conscience need to be ''cleansed from 

dead works" ? Yes, if it knows what I am doing 

and not what my Saviour has done; if it even 

329 



WEEK 162. 

grieves over my sins and does not rejoice over 
my salvation ; still more if it exults over my good 
deeds and forgets my sins. 

Friday. Bead Hebrews 10. My Wilfulness. 
It is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God, but no more fearful than first 
to fall into the hands of my passions and sins. 
If I sin wilfully after I know my folly, there is the 
condemnation, and at once my penalty begins. 
For I have trodden under foot the Son of God. 

Saturday. Bead Hebrews 11. My Faith. 

Faith is possible for me,— not my own faith, but 
Christ's faith given to me. Then all these lives 
are possible for me,— lives of Abraham, and 
Jacob, and Moses, and Gideon, and Elijah; for 
they were what they were only because of their 
faith. Ob, I believe! Help Thou my unbelief! 



330 



WEEK 163. 

WEEK 163. 
Sunday. Bead Hebrews 12. My Witnesses. 
Let me name any one of the millions of great 
and good men and women that have passed into 
the heavens. If he or she were here by my side, 
watching me, knowing my inmost thoughts, how 
different my life would be! But I am compassed 
about very really by just such a cloud of wit- 
nesses, and among them is the chief Seer of all! 

Monday. Bead Hebrews 13. My Stranger. 
It is my stranger, this one that needs me. He 
may not speak to me, yet he is my stranger. I 
may never see him again, yet he is my stranger. 
For he is Christ's stranger, and Christ speaks to 
me. He is Christ's stranger, and I shall see 
Christ again. N 

Tuesday. Bead James 1. My Temptation. 
How shall I count my temptations all joy? 
They are hard for me, bitterly hard, in them- 
selves and their results. Ah, but I do not see all 
of the results ; only a little segment of the results. 
If I face the temptations with Christ to help me, 
at the end of them— far off, perhaps, but still at 
the end of them— is a crown, a crown of life. 

Wednesday. Bead James 2. My Faith. 

It is easy to think about my faith. It is easy to 
talk about my faith. It is very hard to live my 
faith, yet that is the only kind of faith that lasts 
beyond the thinking or the telling,— the kind of 
faith that is lived out. O Christ, Thou source of 
all faith, help me to that kind! 

Thursday. Bead James 3. My Tongue. 

Surely I trust too much to my tongue. I let it 
go unwatched, as if it had not a thousand times 

331 



WEEK 163. 

betrayed me. I do not discipline or train it, 
though its heedlessness has a thousand times 
brought me into trouble and grief. Nothing that 
I have or am so harms me, yet nothing else is 
given such liberty. O God, place Thy angel at 
the door of my mouth! 

Friday. Bead James 4> My Eesistance. 
Has the devil fled from me? Nay, he is right 
by my side, ready with a thousand crafty tempta- 
tions. But why is he there, seeking to persuade 
a child of God to devilish deeds? Alas, he is 
there because he is invited! When my soul re- 
sists him, he flees from me; but not when I re- 
sist him with one hand and beckon him with the 
other. 

Saturday. Bead James 5. My Prayers. 
It is the prayers of a righteous man that avail. 
It is not because of his righteousness that they 
avail, but they do avail. It is of God's righteous- 
ness that any prayers are heard, but it would not 
be God's righteousness if the prayers of the un- 
righteous were heard. O God, give me of Thy 
righteousness, that I may pray to Thee! 



WEEK 164. 

WEEK 164. 

Sunday. Bead 1 Peter 1. My Sightlessness. 

Not having seen Him, I yet love Him. How 
will it be when I can see Him! True, He is with 
me now. His breath is upon my brow. His words 
are in my ears. His hand directs me. His eye 
is upon me. But how much clearer are the words 
of men and the forms of men, and how different 
it will be when I see Him and hear Him even as 
now I see and hear my brothers on the earth! ■ 

Monday. Bead 1 Peter 2, My Patience. 
Not to be patient when all things go well with 
me, or when my trials are as summer zephyrs; 
not to endure what a child might easily endure ; 
not to face the light mists of the morning, which 
the sun will instantly scatter; but to be patient 
when the bitter troubles come, when sorrows 
that would cripple a giant hurl themselves against 
me, when the blackness of deepest night encom- 
passes me,— that is the patience of Christ. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 Peter 3. My Reasons. 

It is well to have hope, of any kind, with what- 
ever backing. But hope that is at the mercy of a 
sneer, or a doubt, or a crafty argument is poor 
hope. Let not such a hope be mine, but a hope 
that is sure and stedfast, firmly founded upon un- 
shifting reason. If I cannot give a reason for my 
hope, it will not be my hope very long. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 Peter 4- My Crisis. 
The end is at hand. The end of all things tem- 
poral for me. The end of earthly life, and all its 
innumerable interests that so engage me. That 
the end is sure, I am certain. That it may come 
to-day, is also certain. That it will come when 

333 



WEEK 164. 

I am not expecting it is most certain of all. O 
God, when it comes, may I be with Thee! 

Thursday. Bead 1 Peter 5. My Care. 
Let me not know any care. Let me cast it all 
upon my Saviour. Let it be His care henceforth, 
and mine no longer. Not to burden Him, for it 
will be no burden. Indeed, it is His burden that 
I do not allow Him to carry it! 

Friday. Read 2 Peter 1. My Addition. 
From glory unto glory! From growth unto 
growth! If I am not growing, I am dwindling. 
If I am not going forward, I am going backward. 
If the Lord is not with me in greater blessing 
day after day, He is not really with me at all, 
and my blessings are daily melting away. 

Saturday. Bead 2 Peter 2, My Deliverance. 
Temptations come to the godly, but the Lord 
knows how to deliver him out of them. Tempta- 
tions come to the ungodly, but the Lord does not 
know how to deliver him out of them. Am I of 
God? Am I godly? Is my hand in God's, my 
reliance upon Him? Then alone shall the flood 
of temptation have no terrors for me, and I shall 
walk through it in safety. 



334 



WEEK 165. 

WEEK 165. 

Sunday. Bead 2 Peter 3. My Expectation. 
I have great prospects ; let me live a great life. 
I look forward to a mighty coming of my Lord, 
when all the heavens shall shine, and all the 
earth shall shout, and His grace and glory shall 
fill the universe. O my Lord, am I to be a part 
of it all, or an outcast out of it all? 

Monday. Bead 1 John 1. My Fellowship. 
By this shall I know whether I am companying 
with the Father or not,— by noting whether my 
life is full of light or full of darkness. By this 
shall I know whether I am companying wity the 
Son or not,— by. noting whether my life is full of 
love or full of selfishness. 

Tuesday. Bead 1 John 2. My Advocate. 
As a criminal turns to his lawyer, and rests in 
him all his hope of freedom and happiness for all 
years to come upon the earth, so do I, a sinner, 
look humbly and confidingly to my Advocate, and 
repose in Him my hope for earth and endless 
heaven. What have I, O Christ, now or here- 
after, if Thou dost fail me? But Thou wilt not 
fail me. 

Wednesday. Bead 1 John 3. My Love. 
Let my love for God be the test of my obedience 
to God, for 1 shall love Him if I do His will. Let 
my love to men be the test of my love for God, 
for if I love Him, 1 shall love those whom He 
loves so deeply. 

Thursday. Bead 1 John 4- My Boldness. 
Am I afraid of God or of man? Then I do not 
love aright either God or man, for perfect love 
easts out fear. If I love God with all my soul, I 
shall not fear God's judgment, to-day or here- 

335 



WEEK 165. 

after. If I love mankind with all my soul, I shall 
not fear that man will harm me. Love is my 
shield and my fortress, my defence and my suffi- 
ciency ; for God is Love. 

Friday. Read 1 John 5. My Overcoming. 
I have much to overcome, perils of this world 
close around me; perils of the world to come, 
tempting fiends, the threatening horrors of eter- 
nal death. But I have a victory, ever at hand,— 
even my faith. Nay, not my faith, but the faith 
of Him who upholds my will and my hope, when 
the one falters and the other cannot see through 
the mists. 

Saturday. Bead 2 John. . My Abiding. 
Let me know myself, not by what I say with my 
mouth or even by what I believe with my mind. 
Let me know myself by what I do in my life. 
That is to abide in Christ,— to continue in His 
works and ways, speaking His loving words and 
doing His loving deeds. All other abiding is fal- 
lacious. 



336 



WEEK 166. 

WEEK 166. 

Sunday. Bead 3 John. My Imitation. 
It is so easy to imitate! I am not merely my- 
self, but all whom I see. Much of their good 
lives in me, and much of their evil. I am safe, O 
God, only as I turn toward Thee this imitative 
power of mine ; only as I see Thee the One alto- 
gether lovely, the One who alone is to he imitated. 

Monday. Bead Jude. My Defilements. 
I hate even the spotted garments. I loathe the 
defilements of sin. Why is it, then, that I ever 
seek after them? Why is it that I wear the gar- 
ments of evil, and add to their pollutions? It is ■ 
because I live without Thee, O Thou Pure One! 
Without Thee, who art aple to set me in the 
presence of Thy glory without blemish, and with 
exceeding joy! 

Tuesday. Bead Bevelation 1. My Kingdom. 
I am made to be a king unto God ; nay, I am 
made to be a kingdom. I am the realm and its 
ruler. The kingdom reaches to the end of time. 
It is my life, which is to all eternity. Within it 
are the thrones of all powers, the palaces of all 
joys. Ah, let me not trifle with my inheritance! 

Wed. Bead Bevelation 2. My First Love. 
Alas for me, if any day is better than the pres- 
ent day! My life is to be an ascent, and not in 
any part a descent. Each sunrise is to usher in 
a greater glory, each evening to set upon a deeper 
blessedness. Thy help, O my God, if this is not so 
with me! 

Thursday. Bead Bev. S. My Lukewarmness. 

Some day, I shall not be careless or indifferent 

about the things of heaven. It will be when I 

337 



WEEK 166. 

know that earth is nearly over for me. How my 
zeal will burn, then! How keen will be my anx- 
iety, then! How hot will be my regret, then! 
Ah, there will be no lukewarmness, in that day. 

Friday. Read Revelation ^. My Praise. 
If God were an earthly potentate, and I had 
access to his presence, how carefully I would con 
his deeds, what phrases I would frame in which 
to praise them, how they would dwell in my mem- 
ory and linger on my tongue! But since God is 
not an earthly ruler, but the King of all kings 
and Lord of all lords, how witless is my silence 
and my forgetfulness! 

Saturday. Read Revelation 5. My Saviour. 
He was slain. He redeemed with His blood all 
creatures. The highest beings in the universe 
are full of His praises. All heaven rings with 
the song of His glory. He was slain for me. He 
redeemed me with His blood. And not all the 
songs of archangels can satisfy Him if my poor 
note is lacking. 



WEEK 167. 

WEEK 167. 
Sunday. Read Revelation 6. My Safety. 
The great day of God's wrath shall come. The 
great day of Christ's wrath shall come. In that 
day men will cry to the mountains to fall upon 
them and hide them. And where shall I find 
safety in that day? Where but at the side of 
Christ? Where but in the bosom of God? 

Mon. Read Revelation 7. My Tribulation. 
Sometimes it is great tribulation. Sometimes 
it seems impossible to endure it. Yet how slight 
it will seem, in that great day! And how glad I 
shall be that I endured it! Help me in the tribu- 
lation, O Christ of many sorrows ; and help me 
out of it, in Thy good time. 

Tuesday. Read Revelation 8. My Prayers. 
It is fine to offer visible worship, to see the 
clouds of incense rising toward God as in the 
days of the temple ; but God has a better loved 
temple in the trusting heart, and better loved in- 
cense in the trusting prayer. Let me be the 
priest of such a temple, day and night. 

Wednesday. Read Revelation 9. My Seal. 
Do I wear the seal of God in my forehead? 
Has God imprinted upon me that mysterious and 
potent sign, known and obeyed by all His ser- 
vants, marking me His forever? Yes, if I have 
surrendered myself His ; no, if I have not. 

Thursday. Read Revelation 10. My Time. 
There will come an end of time, for me and all 
men. There will come a season when time will 
be meaningless, lost, altogether swallowed up in 
eternity. Awful thought, that my use of these 
measured intervals determines my character 

339 



WEEK 167. 

throughout that dateless existence! Creator of 
time, be Thou my guide through Thy creation! 

Friday. Bead Revelation 11. My Kingdom. 
Let me espouse the eternal success. Let me 
join myself to the everlasting triumph. Let me 
become a citizen of the unending Kingdom. And 
when the petty kingdoms of this world seek to 
tempt away my allegiance, remind me, O God, of 
their swiftly approaching end, and of my own 
endlessness. 

Saturday. Bead Eevelation 12. My Life. 
I have a life, which I am to love, even to the 
death. And I have a life which I am not to love, 
even to the death. The fleshly life, if I love it, 
will conduct me to death indeed. The life that is 
hid with Christ in God, if I love it, will conduct 
me to the life that is life indeed. O God, my Life, 
help me to hold to life! 



340 



WEEK 168. 

WEEK 168. 
Sunday. Read Revelation 13. My Patience. 
What will test my patience? The trying of my 
faith. For I shall see the wicked triumphing in 
the earth, waxing rich and powerful, while the 
good are poor and oppressed. Yet let me remem- 
ber their end, and trust in my God. 

Monday. Bead Revelation 14- My Death. 
Every day of my life shall bethink itself of the 
last day of my life. On that day my works shall 
follow me, whithersoever I go, and nothing else 
shall follow me. Will they follow me into rest, 
the Sabbath rest of God's children? Or will they 
follow me into the toil and sorrow everlasting? 

Tuesday. Read Revelation 15. My Song. 
If I am to sing in heaven the song of Moses and 
the Lamb, it is time I was practising it upon the 
earth. It is time I was praising God, and rejoic- 
ing in His righteousness, and tuning my soul to 
His. What shame would be mine if I must be 
dumb, my first day in heaven! 

Wed. Read Revelation 16. My Garments. 
What are the garments over which I must watch 
against the last day, lest I walk naked, and men 
see my shame? They are the robes of Christ's 
righteousness, the beautiful garments of my sal- 
vation. I must not lay them aside. My eye and 
my heart must be upon them, even in the night 
time. 

Thursday. Read Revelation 17. My Victory. 
The Lamb shall overcome all evil; and they 
that are with Him, called and chosen and faith- 
ful, they also shall overcome all evil. What glory, 
O Christ, to be taken up into Thy conquests! I 

341 



WEEK 168. 

that seek fame and rejoice in it, what other fame 
shall I dare to seek? 

Friday. Bead Revelation 18. My Babylon. 
When Babylon falls, shall I have any share of 
the fall? Will aught of me— of my possessions, 
my hope, my life— be involved in it? God grant 
that there may not be. God grant that I, and all 
mine, may stand wholly outside of that great 
ruin; that it may not be in anywise my Babylon. 

Sat. Bead Bevelation 19. My Hallelujahs. 
Let me live a hallelujah life, getting ready for a 
hallelujah heaven. I must not be ashamed of the 
glad tidings. I must not be forgetful of the glad 
tidings. My words of the glad tidings must not 
be faint or few. • 



342 



WEEK 169. 

WEEK 169. 

Sunday. Bead Bevelation 20. My Record. 
My record is now making in heaven. How it is 
making, is not mine to know, or to care about; 
only that it is making. It is a just record. It is 
a complete record. It is a loving record. In it 
are many things of which I am terribly ashamed. 
In it is one thing in which I glory. That one 
thing is the blood of Jesus Christ my Lord, 
cleansing it from every stain. 

Mon. Read Bevelation 21. My Abiding Place. 
It is an abiding place, this country and city to 
which I go. No uncertainties there, no partings, 
no changes but joyful ones. It is a happy place, 
no tears, no pain, no sin. It is a beautiful place, 
with beautiful scenes and beautiful faces and 
beautiful words and deeds, and nothing else. 
Blessed be my Lord, who has prepared such a 
place for me. 

Tuesday. Bead Bevelation 22. My "Come." 
" Let him that heareth say, Come." 1 have 
heard. From beginning to close of the wonder- 
ful Book I have heard but one voice, "Come! 
Come! Come! Come to Me, and be saved, and 
happy, and strong." Lord Jesus, I come. Come 
Thou to me. And through these words I have 
written upon Thy Word, O come Thou to many 
souls. Amen. 



343 



TWO BOOKS 

ABOUT THE BIBLE 

By AMOS R. WELLS 



THE BIBLE MARKSMAN 

This book presents an entirely new system of Bible- 
marking. Fifty-two topics — the most important themes 
treated in the Bible— are chosen, one for each week of 
the year. Each of these is divided into seven sub-topics, 
one for each day, and under each sub-topic the most 
important texts are given, which are linked together by 
a simple method of cross-reference. There is a chapter 
on Bible study, and a full topical index transforms 
the volume into a convenient reference-book for Bible 
students. 

A BIBLE YEAR 

A complete course of Bible-reading by which the 
entire Scriptures are completed in one year. Suggestions 
for daily meditations and for further Bible study are 
given in abundance. In fact, it is a complete manual 
of Bible study useful to all, and especially to those who 
have not yet read the Bible through. 

Each book neatly bound in cloth 
PRICE, 35 CENTS EACH 



UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 
BOSTON AND CHICAGO 



Our Workers' Library 

Cloth bindings, 33 cents each, postpaid. 
All twelve volumes, $3.23, postpaid 

These books should be in every Christian En- 
deavor library. Are they in yours? 



THE OFFICERS' HANDBOOK. By Amos R. Wells. A man- 
ual for the officers of young people's societies, together with 
chapters upon parliamentary law, business meetings, etc. 

FIFTY MISSIONARY PROGRAMMES. By Belle M. Brain. 
Valuable suggestions upon ideal missionary meetings, together 
with fifty entirely different programmes for missionary meetings. 

THE MISSIONARY MANUAL. By Amos R. Wells. The most 
complete handbook of methods for missionary work in young 
people's societies ever published. 

FUEL FOR MISSIONARY FIRES. By Belle M. Brain. Prac- 
tical plans for missionary committees. Everything tried and 
proved. 

PRAYER-MEETING METHODS. By Amos R. Wells. This 
book contains by far the most comprehensive collection of 
prayer-meeting plans ever made. 

SOCIAL EVENINGS. By Amos R. Wells. This is the most 
widely used collection of games and social entertainments ever 
made. 

SOCIAL TO SAVE. By Amos R. Wells. A companion volume 
to " Social Evenings." A mine of enjoyment for the society 
and home circle. 

OUR UNIONS. By Amos R. Wells. Wholly devoted to Chris- 
tian Endeavor unions of all kinds, their officers, work, and 
conventions. 

WEAPONS FOR TEMPERANCE WARFARE. By Belle M. 
Brain. Full of ammunition for temperance meetings. Hun- 
dreds of facts, illustrations, suggestions, programmes. 

NEXT STEPS. By Rev. W. F. McCauley. A book for every 
Christian Endeavor worker. It is a storehouse of suggestions. 

CITIZENS IN TRAINING. By Amos R. Wells. A complete 
manual of Christian citizenship. 

EIGHTY PLEASANT EVENINGS. A book of social entertain- 
ments intended for young people's societies, church workers., 
temperance unions, and for individual use. 

United Society of Christian Endeavor, 
Tremont Temple, Boston 155 La Salle St., Chicago 



HAY 7 1908 



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Treatment Date: May 2005 

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